


The Toll

by AmeliaAsherWrites, Wickedly_Hooked (TheDarkOne)



Series: Once Upon a Time - The Pirate and the Witch [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe (Once Upon a Time), F/M, Melancholy, Roleplay Style, Roleplaying Character, The Enchanted Forest (Once Upon a Time), Wonderland (Once Upon a Time)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2020-10-19 05:53:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 46,055
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20652257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AmeliaAsherWrites/pseuds/AmeliaAsherWrites, https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkOne/pseuds/Wickedly_Hooked
Summary: A series of canon compliant and canon divergent works involving Wishverse Hook and Original Zelena pre-Ivy curse which sends them to Hyperion Heights. WickedNook and Detective Weaver and AU Belle Rumbelle in part 4.Wish Hook and Zelena meet after several years by chance in a small village in the Enchanted Forest.





	1. Chapter 1

Zelena  
“Robyn?” Zelena called for her daughter and stepped out of the door of their _Emerald Acres Farm_ in the Enchanted Forest. “Robyn!”  
She looked around, waiting for her to answer, but she could only hear birds singing.  
The witch sighed, and went back inside. She had to go to the market as they definitely needed some food for themselves as well as the pigs. Robyn was so much her father. Zelena assumed she might be prowling in the forest, and that meant she wouldn’t return soon.  
So the witch left a note for her, took her basket and headed to the village at the coast.  
Fresh fish was something they haven’t had in a long time, and if she was lucky there were traders from other realms with interesting stuff.  
Since it was a nice day, Zelena decided to walk there. It was about an hour away, and she enjoyed the walk and took her time to look for some herbs near the path.  
She arrived in the little town later than she had thought (probably because of her now half filled basket with herbs and roots), and headed straight to the marketplace.  
When she had bought everything she needed, she walked to the harbor to have a look at the ships and potential dealers.

Killian  
The winds were fair for the late afternoon, but the pirate was not aboard a ship as he may have wished in his carefree, younger days. He stood, leaning against a building overlooking the harbor with a nostalgic look in his eyes. The fingers of his hand prodded at his rib cage, the bodily barrier prohibiting him from stopping the lingering pain. His days were numbered and he knew he’d cheated Death more than his fair share. A smile crossed his face as he recalled the happy news imparted to his ears as Robyn asked his permission earlier in the day.  
”It’s getting worse, isn’t it?” she had remarked. It truly was the worst pain he’d experienced in the centuries he’d been around, but this time, wasn’t it worth it? To have been able to see Alice happy again even for a moment was everything. If Death came for him soon, he’d not ask for borrowed time. He could die a happy man in knowing his daughter would be well taken care of.

A distant ship’s sails were being lowered as the men aboard prepared for an evening of raucous delights in town. Killian looked away. The sounds of activity behind him in the village met his ears. He couldn’t stand against the building until the sun set. He was still alive for the time being anyway. Dropping his hand from prodding at his heart, Killian winced as one more stab reminded him of time. What could he do with it? Certainly not ruin an evening that was sure to be one of Alice’s happiest when Robyn proposed. No, he would stay in the village and…

A head of red hair passing by caught Killian’s eye. “Bloody hell,” he muttered to himself in astonishment at seeing a familiar face this far from her home. Completely forgetting to take it slow and walking in a brisk pace after Zelena, Killian called her name. A genuine smile remained despite the weariness around his eyes. The mother of the one who had just promised to take care of Alice was just the person to share the happy news with.

Zelena  
Zelena was walking down the waterfront and looked at the ships that anchored or were about to land. She could see some villagers heading towards a large ship that had just landed, and two women were already discussing something with the Captain or First Mate.  
She was curious what the ship would have on board and decided to have a closer look.  
The witch was just passing a building to her right when she suddenly heard someone calling her name. Who in all realms would know her? She stopped, and turned around, trying to find out who recognized her. And then she saw a familiar face. Her jaw dropped a bit, as she hadn’t seen Nook in a very long time. It must be Nook as Hook was with Emma, and Zelena was sure that both were not in the Enchanted Forest.  
A broad smile appeared on her lips, and she went to meet her old friend.  
“Killian! What in OZ’ name are you doing here?”  
Well, that was a nice surprise and first Zelena didn’t notice that he wasn’t in his best shape. She was just happy to see him. She was about to hug him out of joy if he would allow it.

Killian   
Evidently, Zelena was just as surprised at seeing him which delighted Killian to his toes. Furthermore, her arms opened to embrace him. Wrapping an arm around her, he pulled Zelena in--careful not to upset her basket--and kissed the side of her head in the returned embrace.

He knew Zelena had no magic and was familiar enough with her farm to know she had no coachmen. She had walked and quite a distance, too. “I’m flattered you’ve walked all the way here to visit an old friend.” He raised an eyebrow as he tilted his head to look fondly at her. True, she likely hadn’t thought of him in some time, as it had been a while since they’d spoken, but he couldn’t miss an opportunity to tease.

Zelena  
She didn’t realize how much she had missed him until she felt his arms around her. He even gave her a hello kiss. She felt a warmth in her heart and gave him her warmest smile when they parted.  
She laughed when he teased her, and she gently nudged him at his upper arm.  
“Oh come on, if I had known that you’re here I wouldn’t have wasted time looking for herbs and roots. Now tell me, what are you doing here? It’s so nice to see you.” Zelena found it difficult not to fire questions at him, she wanted to know everything that happened since they last saw each other.  
“I’m so sorry I never visited you. Although Robyn and I were busy with the farm and tried to get along with each other,” Zelena rolled her eyes briefly when she thought about Robyn becoming a teenager and some of the arguments they had about different things, “but I really should have found some time so we could see each other. How are you?”  
Zelena gave him a closer look while she waited for him to answer, and noticed that he… well, somehow seemed not being so… _vital_ like before. It was merely a feeling, and she couldn’t put a finger on it, but something was going on.

Killian   
Killian looked away from Zelena when he answered. “I’ve moved here. Perfect place for a scoundrel like myself.” He smirked slightly with a brief glance at Zelena and noticed the way she was looking at him, as if she was scrutinizing him. Perhaps he was failing at concealing the stress weighing on him. “After Alice returned and…” He gingerly touched the space over his heart. “It seemed safest,” he finished uncomfortably. It was his own fault after all and there was tremendous guilt that he had to be parted from his daughter. Surely, Zelena had heard about the curse placed on him and Alice.

Shrugging, he attempted to paste a more carefree expression on his face, but it didn’t reach his eyes. How was he? That didn’t matter, really. “Enough about me, love. We’ve the most joyous occasion to celebrate. I spoke to Robyn earlier.” He’d wait to say more after gauging her reaction to that statement.

Zelena  
The former witch was surprised to say at least, that he lived here now, but she was very happy about it.  
“You’re not a scoundrel, stop saying that,” she said. “You’re a fine man, and a handsome pirate.”  
She narrowed her eyes slightly when he continued talking about Alice and touched his chest.  
She placed a hand on his sleeve and stroked with her thumb over the back of his hand.  
“I’m sorry about you and Alice, I really am.” She couldn’t even imagine how painful it must be not being able to get even close to his own daughter.  
Her head came up when he said they would have a joyous occasion. They? Was he talking about Alice and him, or him and Zelena? She was confused, especially when he said he had talked to Robyn earlier.  
“You saw Robyn?” Zelena sighed. “Well, I guess you were more lucky than I today. I haven’t seen her yet. So, what’s the reason you are celebrating?” Zelena decided that he had probably meant Alice and himself. “Have you found a way to break the curse,” she asked excitedly.

_Killian _  
Killian glanced at her hand over his on his chest and was surprised to be receiving sympathy. But she would understand about issues pertaining to a child. Perhaps it wasn’t sympathy but empathy and that was what he needed.

In attempt at dismissing her worry, he tried to joke again. “Ah, flattering me again, I see. You truly did miss me.” It was easier to flirt and act as if everything was fine because it would be after what he knew of the future. He winked at Zelena before continuing on about the news. “No, not the curse, love, but a blessing. Robyn intends to ask Alice to marry her, to take care of her. She only just asked my permission. Alice loves with her whole heart. I could think of no one better suited for the other. They’re a good match, aye?”

He smiled, humbly, at Zelena, truly happy himself and curled his fingers to capture hers in his hand.

Zelena  
She only smiled slightly when he attempted to make his usual jokes, but deep inside she was even more worried about him now.  
“Yes, I did miss you,” she said and meant it.  
However, Killian continued talking, telling her about the joyous occasion and Zelena could only stare at him.  
Her jaw dropped, and her mouth was suddenly dry. She was thunderstruck and she didn’t seem to be able to understand his words in the first moment.  
_Marry… someone wants to marry someone… asked permission… Robyn, Alice, love... WHAT!?_  
Zelena had to moisten her lips and realized that she was only staring at Killian. The basket had dropped from her hand, but she didn’t even notice.  
“I… sorry, can you say that again please?” And before he could say something she added “Robyn, my daughter, has asked your permission to marry Alice, your daughter?”  
Zelena was completely overwhelmed. She knew she probably should be happy, but she had to digest those news first. All of it. First - Robyn wanted to get married. Second - she wanted to marry Alice. Third- she was in love with Alice! And Zelena had thought they just were bff’s.  
Her brain stopped at the third thought and her thoughts circled around the second and third. She wanted to marry Alice… Alice, the _daughter_ of Killian. That meant…

She didn’t even realize that Killian held her hand. Slowly she could sort everything and it took her a bit before she said “I… I didn’t have the slightest idea she is in _love_ with Alice!” She looked at Killian and his words about how happy he was hit her. She quickly smiled and explained “Oh, don’t think I wouldn’t be okay with her loving… a girl, it’s just… she never told me. And she… she asked you for permission to marry Alice?”  
Zelena felt a knot in her chest. Robyn had already asked Killian to marry her girlfriend while she didn’t even tell her own mother that she was seriously thinking about marrying someone at all.  
Zelena swallowed, and tried not to feel too hurt, although she asked herself why Robyn didn’t seem to trust her. Of course, they have had some arguments, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t talk anymore or the bond between them was separated. She was, after all, her _mother_.

She gave Killian an apologizing look, and shoved all her thoughts and worries aside, and tried to feel as happy as Killian. Whatever the reason was that Robyn had decided to ask Killian, it had made him happy, and Zelena was thankful for that. Especially since she knew he was suffering so much from the curse.  
She placed her other hand over his hand and squeezed it gently. “I’m sure Alice will be in good hands with Robyn, and the other way round. I’m happy for them.”  
She let go of Killian’s hands and realized that she had dropped her basket. She picked up her herbs and put them back, before looking at Killian.  
“I’d really love to see you more often now, especially since our daughters have decided to share the rest of their lives with each other. Where are you living,” she asked, and hoped she hadn’t messed up things for him or maybe had spoiled his good mood.

Killian  
Killian watched Zelena’s expression change remarkably fast as she processed the news. His lips formed into a line and his eyebrows raised as she spoke and repeated what he said. Then the forced smile as she backtracked and Killian felt his own forced grin in response. Had he made a mistake in assuming Robyn had confided in her mother?

“Er…” he started. And then Zelena was squeezing his hand with both of hers. How could he fix this? She released his hands and she began picking up her dropped basket of herbs. Scratching behind his ear, he winced. He, perhaps, shouldn’t have told Zelena without knowing what she knew, but it was done and time was of the essence.

“Well, _darling,"_ he drawled, "I’d suggest a conversation with your daughter is warranted, but perhaps give the two young ladies time to talk first. Take the edge off the day’s news with me and I’ll buy you a drink. I live just above the tavern there.” Gesturing toward the building with the lanterns hung on either side of the doorway, he took a step toward Zelena just as a remaining tremor of the curse shot through his heart again causing him to stop and clutch his chest. Breathing slowly through his nose, the pain dissipated and he grimaced. “On second thought, perhaps at a later date,” he said through strained breath. If there ever would be a later date…

Zelena  
The former witch was still trying to digest the news, but she would have enough time to think about it on her way back. Killian was right, there must have been a reason why Robyn didn’t tell her but him, and she didn’t want to argue with her daughter before giving her a chance to tell her about it herself. At least Zelena hoped she would. She tried so hard not to feel hurt, but it was nothing she could control.  
She focused on Killian again, and looked at the building he was gesturing at. She really could use a drink now, but she wanted to clear things up with Robyn, and maybe Alice too, and was about to reject his offer when he suddenly clutched his chest. Zelena could clearly see that he was in pain, and not in a good condition at all, and she grabbed him by his arms as she didn’t know if he was able to stand.  
“Killian, what… i-it’s your heart, isn’t it? Is Alice here?” She looked around as she assumed his daughter might be too close, but she couldn’t see her. “What’s happening here,” she asked, and felt so helpless like never before. It pained her to see him like this, and she didn’t let go of him, but offered him support. “You should rest, shall I take you back to your room?”

Killian  
Zelena was gripping him by the arms and Killian blinked as his erratic heartbeat thrummed away in his chest. He glanced away for a moment in attempt at not appearing as if he were weak in front of her. He still had his pride after all.

“No, no,” he wheezed, allowing her to steady him. Perhaps he needed it after all. “Alice is in the village. I saw her earlier today.” Pressing his fingers hard against his ribs, he tried to steady his breathing and stand straighter. “Bloody witch, Gothel. It’s the feeling of literal heartbreak; as if it’s ripping in two for what I did to Alice.” He tilted his head slightly and looked at Zelena with a trace of his old pirate smirk in order to appear fine and not near death’s door. “A scoundrel, I am, love. I told you. You might think twice about befriending a pirate.”

But she was right, he needed to be alone in his quarters where he wouldn’t be suffering with an audience. He’d walk ahead toward the tavern and its side door which led up to his room.

Zelena  
She knew he was playing it down, but she also knew he didn’t like to appear weak in front of others. So she released him as soon as he appeared stable enough to stand on his feet again, and felt anger rising by his words. Not about the ‘bloody witch’ but about him calling himself scoundrel. It might be a word in pirate language that was used in a proudly way, but for Zelena it sounded like the opposite and she didn’t like it very much.  
But he was a pirate, and she didn’t comment on that one. But she couldn’t stay quiet about his last comment.  
“Perhaps you might think twice about befriending the wicked witch,” she said in a biting tone.  
“I can pretty well decide whom I like and not, thank you very much.”  
Killian walked off to his room as it appeared, and Zelena followed him. At least far enough to make sure he made it back safely and didn’t fall on the stairs. She waited until he entered his room, and gave him a sad look. “Get some rest, pirate. I promise I’ll be back for you soon.” She would wait until he closed the door before biting her lips and blow him a kiss which he wouldn’t see. Then she would head back home.


	2. Chapter 2

Killian  
After Zelena deposited Killian in his quarters on what should have been a truly happy day for the old pirate, he could not help but feel saddened. He'd lived far longer than a mortal should--two or three lifetimes already. Shouldn't he be satisfied with his life thus far and be ready to go? Perhaps he'd always been selfish for he was feeling as such now as his fingers clutched at his chest over his heart and he breathed deeply with his back against the closed door. His blasted heart continued to radiate pain as a reminder of his mistakes. He'd pay for being selfish and leaving Alice for his revenge for the rest of his days, no matter how long or short they might be now. And now because of his selfishness, he wasn't going to be able to see his beautiful daughter marry Robyn. After the happy news earlier in the day, he had new hope arise in him that he might be able to be present on the occasion, but then he'd gotten too close to Alice and forgotten in his happiness and hugged her, thus causing his current predicament. Sharing the news with Zelena had also been lovely--even if the woman had been shocked to her toes to learn about the relationship in the first place. He chuckled in after thought and carefully walked to the small table in the corner that held an ewer and bowl and dipped his hand into the water to wipe the cool water down his face.

There was a loud muffled noise through his walls as the patrons in the bar below his room became raucous in their merriment. That had been his life long ago, another reminder of how much his life had changed. He had taken the room because the rent was next to nothing since he had helped the landlord to get rid of her no-good husband; and it was very far from the village where Alice lived. The less they saw one another, the longer he could be there for her from afar.

Killian shucked his jacket, careful of the hook, and tossed it carelessly on the chair beside the ewer table. The motion shot through him and jarred his heart. The hook struck the ewer, knocking it off the table to crash onto the wooden floor. Shaking his head, he walked toward his small bed. He'd gotten half the eyehooks on the vest undone when he figured, why bother? and sat heavily onto the bed. He was asleep in moments.

Down below in the bar, even above all the noise of the patrons, the bartender glanced up curiously at the ceiling after hearing the crash. A dark spot began to grow on the ceiling and then a drip fell onto the bar.

Zelena  
After she had left Killian in the tavern she had a bad feeling of leaving him, and even for a curse he was suffering too much. At the moment she had to deal with the other family issue, but she promised herself she would be back for him the next day.

_The next day_  
Zelena got up early. She knew it was a long walk to the village and she wanted to be there as early as possible.  
She walked a brisk pace, today without any basket or stopping for picking up herbs. Her thoughts were with Killian, and she seriously asked herself if he was still alive. Zelena was shocked herself by even thinking that, but in the night she woke up from a nightmare, dreaming that she came back to see him and found him dead in his room. It had given her goosebumps, and she couldn’t go back to sleep for a long time. 

She made it to the village in less time than the day before and arrived at the marketplace early. A tasty smell of freshly baked bread, spices and _coffee_ reached her nostrils, and she decided to buy something. Maybe all he needed was a good breakfast. Although she knew he needed very likely much more than a breakfast, it was a start. 

It was easy to find a way and carry the bread, butter and cheese she had managed to find, but it was a bit tricky to balance two cups filled with steaming coffee. To protect her hand from being burned from hot cups she twined a piece of cloth around her fingers, and hurried to get to the tavern. 

The door was another problem, and she had to use her hip to open it.  
The bartender glanced at her, not very happy that a woman came in here so early in the morning, and was even bringing food and beverages along.  
“Lass, what are you doing here,” he stepped into her way before she could make her way upstairs.  
Zelena stopped, and said “I’m here to care for a friend of mine, he wasn’t feeling well yesterday. Killian Jones?” 

She gave him a pleading look, and knew he might be not very happy that she didn’t buy anything from him, but… here she was.  
The bartender stepped aside to let her pass. “You better have a look at him, something happened last night. I heard a noise and something was dripping from the ceiling. Stopped after an hour.” He shrugged his shoulders, and Zelena didn’t wait any longer, but hurried to his room. 

“Killian? Killian, are you there? It’s Zelena!” She waited a moment, but heard nothing. Maybe her dream had been a premonition, and Killian was… no, that couldn’t be.  
“Killian!” She was about to simply enter if it would stay quiet much longer. 

Killian  
The morning fog was thick in his mind and when the sound of banging met his ears, he woke only briefly to assume some drunk patron had gotten lost on the way out for the loo. He was accustomed enough with a noisy residence that he was able to slip back into sleep. He was sweating, having left the window shutters closed in the night causing the room to become stuffy.

The banging continued and the dream shifted to sea. A turbulent storm with an angry, black sky brewed overhead. The waves grew into a huge peaks causing the ship's bow to nose dive then climb the next peak before crashing down again. And then a figure in white crossed his field of vision. It was Alice as a little girl running across the deck. 'No!' he shouted in the nightmare just as a wave crashed across the deck, wiping out anything in front of him. He was drenched in sweat, and thrashed in the bed. He heard his name and thought how odd it was to hear in the midst of the storm.

Zelena  
The door was thick enough to absorb Killian’s thrashing, and Zelena couldn’t hear anything.  
Scared about what the bartender had told her, and more scared about her dream she put everything she was carrying on the floor, and checked if the door was locked.  
Luckily it wasn’t. Her heart hammered in her chest when she carefully opened, awaiting to see Killian’s dead body soaked in blood or another horrible sight of his dead body. 

She breathed in relief when she found him lying in his bed, and very much alive. He was thrashing around, and Zelena could see he was in a bad shape. She entered, and with a few steps she was at his side, noticing the sweat on his forehead and neck. To her surprise he was fully dressed, only half of the eye hooks on his vest were undone.  
He seemed to have a nightmare. 

Gently she placed her hand onto his shoulder and shook him carefully.  
“Kilian, wake up, it’s me, Zelena,” she said, and decided to open the window first. It was stuffy in here, and she thought some fresh air might help him to wake up better.  
When the window was open she went back to him.  
“Captain Jones,” she said louder now, and shook him again.

Killian  
The jostling confused Killian and he woke with a start. His eyes flew wide after just thinking he'd lost everything. Though his heart was beating rapidly, it was a strong and healthy thrum of a man just terrorized in his sleep. His hand grasped the first thing he could reach and his left arm moved as well.

His eyes couldn't make sense of what he was seeing. There was a roof overhead with the face of a woman over him, staring at him with a strange emotion in her eyes. He recognized Zelena a moment later but she was out of place. What was she doing here? He blinked, his eyes rolling to notice he was in his rented quarters, not on the ship. Zelena wasn't a threat to him. It had been a bloody nightmare.

That was when he became embarrassed and realized where his hook was and subtly moved his left arm away from her and released his grip on her as well. "Aye, I'm awake. What are you doing here?"

He realized how he was sweating as his leathers and the linen shirt were sticking to him. Certainly embarrassed. He'd felt so sick in the night, but now he felt fine. His heart was beating rather loudly to his eardrums, but he suspected since he made it to see another day that the worst was over with for now. It didn't help his state of mind that this would all happen again and was only a matter of time. How much more could his body withstand?

He shifted on the bed, turning his face away from Zelena so he could get up and wash the sweat from his face and neck but frowned at the broken ewer on the floor. What had happened the night before came back to him. The window was open now and he gave a brief nod of thanks to Zelena for that knowing he hadn't gotten around to it the night before. Keeping his back to her out of his own embarrassment, he said, "I thought you were going back home. Did you stay here? In the village?" Why had she come back? He hadn't wanted her to see him in this state even though she had briefly before escorting him here.

Zelena 

If she had thought last night that he was in a bad condition he now convinced her on the contrary. He woke up with a start, and his hand grabbed her collar as she had bent over him.  
Her eyes widened in surprise, but she was glad he just showed her that he seemed to be better. A lot better.  
She gave him a moment to become awake enough to realize that she wasn’t a threat, and he loosened his grip on her a moment later.

His question a moment later made Zelena aware of the fact that she had been simply appeared in his room without being invited. She backed away a bit and said “I’m… sorry I simply showed up here, but I had a good reason to think something bad had happened to you.”  
She turned around to give him at least a bit of privacy in his own room, and felt ashamed.  
What had she been thinking to simply get in here!  
The breakfast, she would go outside and get the breakfast! 

Killian’s next questions held her back, and she dared to give him a quick look over her shoulder as she was confused. “I did go home, but I promised to come back, don’t you remember? I brought breakfast,” she added, and went outside to get it.  
She pulled the door ajar behind her, and waited outside until he would either call her to come in again or open the door.

Killian  
“A good reason?” He repeated her words as he glanced over his shoulder to see Zelena going out into the hallway for the breakfast she had evidently brought him. He was baffled. When she said she was returning home, it was such a distance away, he didn’t expect to see her again. But he also only half expected to see the sun shining this morning. That’s when he realized what her reasoning was. She thought he would perish in the night as well.

Sighing, Killian used his boot to slide the broken pottery to the side where it wouldn’t be stepped on. The bowl still had some water in it thankfully so he quickly unhooked the vest and peeled his shirt off over his head so he could wash the sweat from himself. “I apologize for yesterday. I wasn’t myself.” He sounded stiff and formal in his speech and didn’t like that either. It was meant to be a happy occasion. He wasn’t really sorry for any of it, just that Zelena had to witness his deterioration. When he glanced back toward the door, he saw Zelena standing outside it and frowned at her. “Come in if you’d like. I’ll just be a moment.” He saw the food in her hands and upon realizing she also held two cups, he sniffed the air to smell the pleasant aroma wafting in with the window open. “Oh. Have you brought coffee?” A first hopeful glimmer shone in his eyes at the prospect. The Arabian merchant must have sailed in recently. His attention went back to the table where he pulled a drawer and removed a clean black shirt to throw on.

Zelena  
“I… the bartender - he said he heard a noise and something was dripping from the ceiling, I was worried you might have had an unpleasant visitor,” she quickly made up an excuse that was not even a lie. She just didn’t tell everything.

Almost in the same moment a loud noise told her he was sliding the shards away, and assuming he would let her in again at some point, as he didn’t tell her to leave yet, she picked up the coffee and breakfast again, and waited. His next words hit her unprepared, as she was not used to hear him talking like this, and she needed a moment to figure out what to say.  
“No apologies needed, I just promised I’d be back for you. You should know me by now - I tend to stick to my promises and I hate to wait long.” He would her a humorous undertone in her voice. “Aside from that we haven’t seen each other in a long time.” 

He allowed her to come in again, and Zelena gave him a few more seconds before she entered again. She stopped right in the doorframe when she saw him - without any shirt - and she couldn’t prevent that her eyes wandered over his upper body.  
Didn’t he just say something? Zelena forced her eyes to look up into his, and tried to remember the question. His sniffing gave it away, luckily for her, he was probably smelling the coffee.  
“Uhm, yes, coffee. One of the merchants sold it. Freshly brewed. I haven’t had coffee in a long time, I guess I should try to find out where he got it from. Maybe there is something left.

Killian turned around now to get a new shirt. Zelena just watched him throwing it on and regretted that she hadn’t stepped in earlier.  
Once he was fully dressed again, she realized that she was still holding everything instead of placing it down onto the table.  
“Here, try the coffee before it gets cold,” she said, and placed the mug so he could take it.  
“I also brought some bread, butter and cheese. Take it also as apology; I shouldn’t have just… stormed in.”

She held her mug close to her lips, and inhaled the aroma of the coffee. “Aaaah, I can’t say how much I miss not having coffee every day.”  
She took a sip, and nodded. “Good stuff.” She put it back onto the table again, and opened the bag with the food. “I hope you have a knife somewhere,” she said, and pointed at the cheese. They could break the bread, but for the butter and cheese they would need it.

Killian  
The bartender hadn’t checked on him as far as he knew; he’d been asleep. “I knocked that over hours ago,” he mused realizing with shock that had he died in the night, no one would have come to check. Except Zelena had. He shook his head but he couldn’t fault the bartenders. They left him alone, minding their business and he did the same. Something else didn’t ring true in her statement. She would have had to already be back before she would have had that particular reason for hurrying back. But he didn’t linger on that. She was changing the subject quickly enough. 

Perhaps he should know better, as she said, that Zelena would come back if she said she would—they had come to know each other quickly out of the necessity of saving Robyn so many years prior, after all—but he hadn’t expected to be here whenever she did come back. That was not something he intended to say aloud. So he ducked his head and nodded. 

He smirked when she asked if he had a knife and he gave her an amused look that said she should know he does. “Pirate,” he reminded. “Of course I have a knife.” While he pulled a case down from a shelf with several small knives most certainly too sharp for something soft like cheese but more for the softness of flesh, he realized she had said something else that caught his curiosity. As he motioned for her to come and put the food on the small table, he said, “Every day, you say? Have you... been to Arabia? The merchant ship only comes this way biannually.” Unless she possibly made a large trade at some point in time with her farm goods for a quantity of coffee beans, he wouldn’t have expected anyone to be able to enjoy coffee daily. “Unless you mean...” and he realized perhaps she meant when she had magic. “Before?” Now he felt as if he was being rude. He took the offered coffee and could feel the warmth radiating through the mug. With her second apology he shook his head, dismissing the need for it. “No worries, love. Barge in anytime, just mind the hook, aye?” He tilted his head slightly with a quick look at her side hoping he hadn’t damaged her clothing with it, but as she wore dark colors, he couldn’t tell. 

“And thank you. For coming back. And for this.” He eyed the spread of food and realized just how hungry he was. “I am glad to see you again, truly, but you shouldn’t have come again so soon. It’s too far a journey for you, and you should be with your daughter for the happy news.” _Not with him._ He didn’t know that she cared for him despite her saying she wanted to catch up with him. 

Zelena  
"Of course I know you have a knife," Zelena said. "I just hoped you would say the word _pirate_ again for me. I like when you say that, it sounds… adventurous. Seems I was successful.” She gave him a smile, and watched him looking for one that he could use for the cheese.  
“And to talk about the coffee,” Zelena said carefully, as she just realized that he had no idea about her life before they met, “I… have been living in a place for a while where I had the luxury of having coffee every day.” She had to think of what to tell him. She didn’t want to reveal too much about her past to him yet, as she was afraid he would turn away from her when he learned about all the terrible things she had done as Wicked Witch. 

On the other hand, it was bothering her to keep it from him. She sighed, and added “And yes, it was before we were introduced. I still had my magic and could travel between realms. Better to say - I had my slippers. Maybe I should take you to that coffee realm some time, unfortunately I have no idea where my slippers are. At some point Regina took them from me to give them to a werewolf.”  
She gave him an apologizing smile, and had to laugh a moment later when he allowed her to barge in any time, but mind the hook.  
“No worries, Captain, in case you’re asleep again, I’ll keep a safe distance. You have good reflexes by the way, if I may say that. Now, let’s have breakfast. I can see you’re hungry. And you’re welcome.” 

Zelena prepared the bread for them, while Killian was slicing the cheese. Still looking at the bread she replied to his last words.  
“Oh I hope you are glad to see me, because I really want to know how life is going for you. Any adventures? And… would you like to tell me about that curse? My daughter, by the way, is pretty busy with anything and anyone else but me. And like I told you yesterday - not only that I decide whom I like, I also decide how long I will go for a walk. Let’s say - I need some company.”  
She beamed at him, and was glad she had decided to come back today. He looked much better, and she wasn’t that scared anymore about his well-being.  
“Aside from that - I wanted to buy some coffee.” 

Killian  
Despite the melancholy mood he seemed to be in, he couldn't help but chuckle and waggle his eyebrows at her over her joke about getting him to say 'pirate.' Furthermore, she went on to describe a coffee realm. Of course, he didn't believe that was the realm's sole purpose, but to have access to the delicacy daily without having to sail all the way to Agrabah, with naught but a pair of slippers even, and he was intrigued.  
"I can't imagine a wolf, were or otherwise, would have a need for slippers, but if you say so." 

He pondered over her ability to travel realms in her past and he shrugged and cut a few slices of the cheese and used his hook to slide half toward her side of the table where the only chair in the room sat empty. "I've traveled realms as well. I don't have my ship anymore either. Seems we're both landlocked, aye? Sit if you'd like."  
He glanced with disdain toward the bed which bothered him far too much now that they were speaking of adventures. He didn't want to die in that bed. He wanted... His eyes moved to the window. A certain longing filling his eyes toward the harbor view beyond the other rows of buildings. 

"So, no," he added to answer her question. "No adventures." He turned his face back to Zelena when she spoke of her daughter and how busy the girl was and he could understand why Zelena had come back. At least that's what he assumed. Perhaps he also needed the company. Despite her smiling at him, he didn't find the ability to smile as well. He picked up the coffee again at her mention of it.  
"The curse... It's..." He paused, looking seriously at Zelena. If he told her, it would ruin her smile, he was certain. But how could she not know that it was killing him after what she had witnessed the previous evening?  
"It's permanent. I've been afflicted for years now and it's worse every time. I thought that I could cure myself by..."  
And at this point, he cleared his throat and took a drink of the coffee after what he almost admitted. That he had tried to kill another version of himself to steal his likeness. To trick the savior into fixing him. But it wasn't possible. It had only landed him against an ale barrel with a bullet in his guts. 

"I'll just say, nothing I've tried works. I'm paying for my past crimes." He raised a shoulder in a shrug. He'd accepted this even if that view from the window was taunting him for what adventures were still out there. 

Killian  
“You would be surprised who that werewolf really is,” she commented. “I’ll tell you the story one day, but first I want to hear something of you.”  
She thanked him for the cheese slices, and her eyes widened when he told her that he didn’t have his ship anymore.  
“What happened to your ship? I’m sorry to hear that, has it… sunk?”  
Zelena couldn’t think of anything else, as Hook would never give up his ship voluntarily, so something must have happened. 

However, when he mentioned both of them would be landlocked, she gave him a sad smile and sat down when he offered it to her. She would get him a second chair, she thought. She had a feeling he would have more often a visitor from now on.  
“I suppose we are, but maybe we can find a way to get back what we desire,” she said when she saw his longing look out of the window and toward the harbour.  
“I have to admit,” she began, and took a slice of cheese and put it onto her bread, “I miss my magic, and some… adventures.” She eyed Killian surreptitiously, and hoped he would somehow react to her thirst for adventure. After all he still was a pirate and he must miss his life on the sea. 

She almost regretted her words when she heard and _saw_ him talking about the curse. Her smile vanished, and her heart pained.  
“What exactly did you do to cure yourself?” Zelena used the time to ask when he clearly tried to swallow the lump he had in his throat. At least Zelena thought so.  
His answer was devastating. “But… isn’t there anything that could work for you? Every curse can be broken.” She placed a hand onto his arm in a comforting gesture, and squeezed him gently to bolster him up. Hopefully. She wouldn’t leave him with this problem. 

His words hit her, and she felt a mixture of anger again, and sadness.  
“Don’t say that,” she looked into his eyes, and placed her other hand on his arm too. Nothing what you did in your past, no crime, _nothing_ \- justifies a curse like this.  
“I’m not going to let you down. We’ll find a way to break this curse. I want you to be present at the wedding of our daughters, and Alice would be very unhappy if her beloved father wouldn’t lead his girl to the altar.”  
Although she had no idea what to do, she tried not to give up hope.  
“Once you told me that love is stronger than anything, and you helped me to save my daughter. There must be a way to break this curse. Don’t give up hope.” 

Killian  
Killian's eyes widened abruptly when Zelena inquired if his ship sunk. What kind of bloody captain did she think he was? But it was clear she hadn't meant it as a slight; that she was only concerned. "No," he shook his head quickly to disperse the misconception. "Gave it away. Smee is the captain now and has been since Alice was born. What could I do with a ship when my daughter was entrapped in a tower?" It was a rhetorical question. He hoped Zelena could empathize with not leaving on adventures when he had a dependent child to care for especially with how she touched his arm after he'd told her about the curse (at least vaguely). But now... Alice was going to get married and be well taken care of. She didn't really need him anymore. And as Zelena mentioned taking back what they desired--adventures namely--he found himself nodding as he turned his eyes from Zelena to the window again. "Are we not quite a pair? A witch with no magic and a pirate with no ship." The smile he wore wasn't bitter. It was just accepting of everything life had dealt. 

He tilted his head as he pondered over Zelena's inquiry over what could be done. His eyes looked at the squalor he'd been residing in. The broken pottery on the floor. Even the bed quilts were mostly in shambles. He'd lost his luster for life in private and only had kept up appearances in public. Looking up at Zelena, he had an idea and sighed as he spoke. "I suppose if I'm meant to walk Alice down the aisle, something must be done. Are there any..." he rotated his wrist, his fingers twiddling in a gesture which he'd seen the mad imp demonstrate, "magical solutions that might restore lost magic and cure a poisoned heart that you're aware of?" 

Zelena  
His explanation about giving his ship away because of his trapped daughter sounded so simple, that Zelena regretted to have asked in the first place. She could have thought about that herself.  
Since there was nothing to say she didn’t even try.  
His words however hit Zelena. Although neither his smile nor his words sounded bitterly, Zelena liked to have magic, and she missed it every day. She wouldn’t tell anyone, as she couldn’t do anything about it yet, but it bothered her.  
Did he really not miss his ship? Alice was free, so why didn’t he try to get his ship back?  
Zelena bit her lip to hold her question back. If she asked, it would sound like a reproach. 

“Well, I guess we are,” she commented, and managed to conjure a slight smile onto her lips.  
It was not before he was mimicking Rumple when she had the feeling that something wasn’t right, although she couldn’t put a finger on it. Aside from his cursed heart, that is. No, somehow his energy was missing. She gave him a scrutinizing look when he asked about a magical solution, and Zelena wasn’t sure anymore if she was imagining things or not.  
Living with such a terrible curse and experiencing pain must be…  
Zelena’s eyes widened. He wasn’t about to give up, was he? No, impossible. He was probably still tired. After all she had woken him with a start and she had no idea when he went to bed last night.  
However, his question preyed on her mind. She would have given everything to give him a positive answer, but she couldn’t.  
“I… have to admit that at the moment I have no idea.” She looked up at him, and withdrew her hands by now. She needed some more coffee, and an idea. 

Her fingers clutched the mug, and she held it to her lips, taking a sip of the black liquid.  
She thought about what to do, and at first they probably needed to find out more about the curse itself, and the person who cast it. Magic was different, and maybe there was something she knew that was helpful if she learned more about it. 

“I need to know more about the curse itself, and the one who cast it. Magic is so different, but if I knew more, maybe I know _where_ to look.”  
She smiled at him, and added, “it would be a start.” 

Killian  
Killian watched Zelena as she thought over his inquiry. She was persistent, hadn't told him a flat out 'no' despite his already knowing it was hopeless. He'd already done everything he could think of including asking Rumpelstiltskin and Regina. The imp was too mad in the brain to be able to help and Regina was too distracted with the witch problem in the area. That left him to ask his returned friend, Zelena, but he was certain there was nothing she could do either. Besides, she had no magic. 

Still, he had asked. Why not? It couldn't hurt to ask. It would mean more time with her, less time alone. 

"Well," he drawled and sat at the foot of his bed. "This is a long story and not a very entertaining one, I'm afraid." Despite the warning, he told her about Gothel and how he'd been tricked into thinking she was Rapunzel, about his discovery of little Alice and of Gothel's trickery the next morning, skipping ahead to when Alice was a teen and he had tried to free Alice from the tower, Gothel's unwelcome intrusion into their tower and her warning, and finally how he had left Alice alone for a few hours to pursue his old pirate ways for a spark of adventure and how it had cursed his heart, fulfilling Gothel's curse. "She used a red capped toadstool in the spell, I believe." 

Zelena  
While Killian told her what happened, Zelena made sure he ate something in between, and threw in a question on a few occasions when she wanted to know more details.  
It was indeed a heartbreaking story, and Zelena felt deeply for the pirate.  
When he told her that a special mushroom was involved, her shoulders and head came up.  
“A red capped toadstool, are you sure about it,” she asked.  
Not even waiting for his answer she added excitedly, “it is something that grows in Wonderland. I have seen one in a very old book that belonged to Cora. Regina showed it to me once. I just… can’t remember what the text said. But I recall the image and the word _Wonderland_.” She smiled at him, as she felt hope rising.  
“Killian, maybe we _can_ help you. We have to go to Wonderland and find out more about that mushroom. Now.” 

She was full of hope now. Every realm had its special things, and that meant there was also someone who knew more than others about it. They just had to find that someone and ask! And find a way to Wonderland of course… 

“We need a bean, or something else to open a portal.” Zelena was all excited, as she wanted nothing more than to help Killian. Aside from that, this could indeed become a real adventure! Something Killian needed at the moment.  
“What about your ship, is there a way to _sail_ to Wonderland? Do you know another way?”  
Getting there would probably be the biggest challenge, but Zelena was confident in finding a way. 

Killian  
Killian sat straighter on the bed, his eyes narrowing as he watched how animated Zelena became over the mention of the toadstool. "What? Now?" he asked, slightly alarmed. 

He stood when she asked about a bean or some form of portal to get them where they needed to go. But he shook his head at mention of his ship. "No, I won't take the Jolly back from Smee. She's his now." 

He paused a moment, thinking over what Zelena was proposing, wondering if the response he had would actually be fortuitous or a bloody waste of time. He grinned slowly. "Well, I've got nothing else to do but rot away by myself. Why the devil not!" He was fully grinning at Zelena now, though his eyes still looked tired. 

He motioned at the table she was sitting at. "Pull that drawer there on the front of the table. You'll find a small box." The box would be plainly decorated. Something that the eye would usually slip past if one didn't know the treasure within. The box would contain a number of small beans. "You see, after my heart first became poisoned, and I learned I couldn't be near Alice, I knew I needed help. I traveled many realms looking for this help. Magic beans will get us where we need to go." 

Zelena  
“Yes, now,” Zelena affirmed, and beamed at him. Although he wasn’t willing to take back his ship, something she could mostly understand, she saw his expression changing. A spark of the old fire he always had was coming to life, she could sense it, and he was even starting to make those terrible jokes about himself again. Zelena didn’t like it, but she knew it was his way to play things down, and she liked him better playing things down than having already given up.  
And there it was - his grin. There was still the fire missing in his eyes, but Zelena was sure it would come back once they found out more. And for heaven’s sake - they would. 

He told her to open the drawer, and so she did. The box he mentioned was plain and inconspicuous, but it contained several magic beans. Zelena gasped for breath when she saw them, and took one of it out.  
“Collecting and keeping them was surely one of the best ideas you ever had,” she said. “And thanks to those beans you hopefully will be able to embrace your daughter soon without being almost killed. 

She put the bean back, stood up, and handed him the box.  
“Where can we use it? Right here? Or shall we go somewhere else?” She wasn’t sure if the tiny room would be big enough for a portal, or survive it. 

Killian  
Zelena's enthusiasm and urgency was rather a breath of fresh air to Killian. Perhaps this was just the thing he needed. 

He scratched at the back of his head as he looked around the small space. "If I'd been in possession of Giant's Beans, tossing one would destroy this room from the destructive power it wields. Giants... big messes, aye? These smaller bitties are Pixie Beans. Still sparklers, but unless I've got anything flammable about..." He glanced around to notice only the ragged bed linens as a potential fire starter and a few candles on the night stand. He first set the box of beans onto the bed and took two steps to pluck the candles off the table and tossed them into the opposite corner with the broken pottery. 

With a goal on the horizon, he didn't notice the tiny bit of hope rising his spirits-- a significant amount of hope to quicken his movements. He raised a ringed hand to wave at the door and the wall, so modest that he hadn't bothered to hang any pictures. "This will do nicely. There's a door there anyway. We toss a bean at it, it sparks and we step through. Much more convenient pixie beans are than giant's beans. And they're much more prolific. Giants are nearly extinct meaning less beans at hand, but the fairies are not. They're rather easy to find." 

He smiled at Zelena as he turned back to the bed to pick up his vest and put it on over his clean shirt, and then his discarded coat that he'd thrown there the night before and slipped his arms through the sleeves, careful of the hook. "So Wonderland it is?" Alice had been there, he knew, since he'd heard others call her Alice from Wonderland a time or two. He hadn't been there himself in years, not since Regina had ordered him there to kill her mother. He'd gotten Cora out of Wonderland in order to keep her from killing him, but now, he had no bloody idea where the woman was and he didn't particularly want to cross paths with her again if she had somehow managed to return. The Queen of Hearts was Zelena's mother as well, he realized with a twitch of his eyebrow. "Er, how's your mother faring these days?" 

He picked up the box once his coat was on and slipped it into his pocket. 

Zelena  
“I didn’t even know there were _different_ magical beans,” Zelena admitted freely.  
She waited, and moved out of the way when he began to “make space”.  
It was indeed a very lucky coincidence that he had found those portal beans and collected them. They were easier to use than the ones Zelena knew of so far.  
She didn’t hope they would get into any trouble, but having the opportunity to get out somewhere without killing themselves was reassuring. 

Zelena smiled when she noticed that excitement seemed to have gotten to him. At least a bit. Maybe the spark was about to reignite the fire in him again…  
“You think the door frame will work? Well, why not. I trust you completely. And we have to walk thought, not jump in,” she asked to make sure of it. Walking through was probably better than jumping. Zelena liked the Pixie Beans already. 

“Yes, Wonderland,” she affirmed when he asked. The question about her mother came unsuspected.  
“Uhm, my… mother?” Zelena was confused, but then remembered that this version of Hook had lived another timeline. So maybe Cora was alive for him? Zelena hoped she wouldn’t, as this would mean she would be another Cora, not the one who had reunited with her daughters, and brought the sisters together. However, she didn’t understand why he connected Cora with Wonderland. 

“I… hope she is not crossing our path. Last time I saw her was in the Underworld when she… crossed over. Into a happy afterlife hopefully.” She tilted her head slightly when she looked at him.  
“Why are you thinking of Cora by going to Wonderland?” 

Killian  
Killian smiled patiently as Zelena took in his explanation about the pixie beans. He nodded and said, “Much easier, indeed. You simply walk through and the portal closes behind you leaving no trace of ever having been there. Just the very thing we need if we’re to go undetected.” 

Apparently what he’d asked about Cora had concerned her. She was dead, it seemed and to a happy afterlife? He raised his lip in confusion. She must have made amends with her daughters, then. “Last I saw her, I made a deal for my life, but I didn’t follow through with it. I was meant to take her to a new land without magic for Regina’s curse. Regina forgave me for not following through but Cora... She is... was a different sort.” He brushed at his chest in memory of when she had shoved her hand into his chest cavity and squeezed. And then he realized the depth of what she had said. “Apologies, love. If she’s crossed into a better place, she must have changed as many of us have.” 

Zelena  
So Cora had a past with Killian then, and it seemed like it had been in Wonderland. Zelena curled her lips as she could imagine it would have surely not been a pleasant encounter for Killian. She knew her mother well enough, and she had noticed Killian’s gesture when he had brushed over his chest.  
“Let’s hope all Cora’s have ended in the same way.” She couldn’t help it, but she felt like she had to apologize for her mother’s actions. She wondered why Killian apologized. Both knew that Cora had done many terrible things.  
“You shouldn’t be the one to apologize, I should. I can only assume what she did to you, and… I’m sorry for it. I can at least tell you that she… uhm, well, she was misguided and probably way too far into wanting more for Regina than being a miller’s daughter. Too much more. She told us that she thought that love was a weakness. Any kind of love. We all saw how it ended. She removed her own heart, and when she got it back… well.” Zelena suddenly laughed, but it was a snarky laughter. 

“I can’t believe I try to explain her actions,” she then said, her expression a bitter one.  
“I think…,” she began, and almost told him what had happened in the Underworld, but then didn’t. It had been in the very moment, when Cora had eventually admitted that she had been sorry for giving her away, that Zelena thought she felt being loved, but in the end Cora had only apologized and (and that was what hurt Zelena most after thinking about it over and over again) - she had told her that she hoped she wouldn’t make the same mistakes she had done. 

Zelena still felt a lump in her throat thinking back to this very moment. After all those years her mother had one chance to make things right, but while she was praising Regina and tell her how perfect she had become, she had a sorry for Zelena, and the hidden remark that she needed to change. Great. 

“Don’t mind,” she said, and blinked a few times as her vision became a bit blurry. She looked at Killian, really looked at him, and her mood lightened again. Only he could make her smile, even when she thought she couldn’t smile at all. He was her secret light in the darkness and he needed help.  
“We should go to Wonderland now, and hope for the best. Ready when you are.”  
Zelena stepped to Killian’s side, and waited for him to throw the bean. 

Killian  
Killian could only watch Zelena as she tried to apologize for her mother--she hadn't known that he was the one to have instigated what her mother had done to him--and he just briefly shook his head to dismiss her apologies when she said love was a weakness and the pain it brought to Zelena's face. So it hadn't been a happy family reunion before Cora passed on to the next place, he assumed. Her eyes became watery and she tried to dismiss her emotions by bringing up Wonderland again.  
"Zelena," he said gently, tilting his head as he saw her smile. He reached up and cupped her cheek before drawing her to him with his left arm in an embrace, his right arm following after. "You know that's not true. We both saw how you saved Robyn. Your love saved her. You're a far better parent than many." Perhaps he had overstepped his place, but he couldn't stand and watch Zelena hurting over something he'd brought up. All he could do at the moment was hug her. 

Zelena  
He didn’t throw the bean. With her smile still on her lips, Zelena looked at him, and the way he said her name made her heart beat faster.  
What Killian did next was more than she could have ever hoped for. Before she actually realized it she felt his hand on her cheek, and in the next moment found herself in his arms, in a hug that meant more to her than he could imagine.  
Without even thinking she wrapped her arms around his waist, and rested her head against his shoulder.  
The smell of leather came into her nose, and she closed her eyes when his words and his closeness began to ease the pain of this old wound in her heart. 

It was the most precious gift he could make her, and Zelena wished he would never let her go. But she also knew his hug was only a gesture of the close friendship they both had, it was to soothe and comfort her, and Zelena didn’t want to ruin anything.  
Although she didn’t want to break the hug, when he had finished talking she gently, and a bit reluctantly, withdrew her arms, and looked at him. 

For the second time within a few moments she was close to tears, but this time it was because she was deeply touched by his words and thankful.  
“Thank you, Killian, really - thank you very much.” With both of her hands she took Killian’s hand, and squeezed it thankfully.  
“It means a lot to me that you think so highly of me. But now… we should take care about your heart again.” 

She hesitated for a moment, but then stepped closer, raised herself on tiptoe and breathed a peck onto his cheek.  
Hoping she didn’t cross the line with this harmless gesture of thanking, she backed off again, and felt her cheeks getting warm. 

Killian  
Killian smiled widely when Zelena thanked him; he was so glad to see that he'd helped her with the little bit he'd said. She kissed his cheek and he dipped his head, blushing slightly himself. Raising an eyebrow, still grinning, he said, "Oh, mustn't forget one thing." He shifted at the waist to reach toward the corner of the bed and lifted his sword and belt. It was looped around his waist and he used his left forearm to hold one side in place as he slipped the tongue through the buckle and secured it. "Right, then. Let's have an adventure, shall we?" He held out his elbow to Zelena as he slipped his hand into his coat pocket to withdraw one of the beans from the plain box. When she would take his arm, he would toss it at the door, his thoughts focused on Wonderland. 

Before stepping through the sparking ring, he had a strange thought that he was stepping into something better, or new adventure-wise, and he might not ever come back to the ramshackle room again. 

Zelena  
She saw the slight reddishness of his cheeks too, and smiled happily. Then he remembered to take his sword along, and Zelena thought he looked like the old Killian Jones when he put it around his waist.  
“Aye, let’s find out about that bloody mushroom and the curse or poison. Whatever it is.”  
Zelena felt full of energy _and_ hope, and held on to his elbow.  
He threw the bean, and a sparkling portal opened in the door.  
“Let’s go,” Zelena said, and both stepped through the portal. 


	3. Chapter 3

_ Wonderland _

Zelena  
She had never been in Wonderland before, and it was almost too much for her eyes in the beginning. Everything here seemed to... radiate.  
The colors were more colorful, the grass greener and larger than normal, and there was a giant caterpillar sitting on a giant mushroom. The fact that it was _smoking a hookah_ almost covered the fact that it was wearing black metal-rimmed glasses and a medieval cap.  
Zelena could only stare at it, and looked at Killian, not knowing what to think about this.  
“Is that… normal?” She asked, not only meaning the caterpillar. “Everything feels so surreal.” 

Killian  
Killian squinted as soon as they stepped through the portal. It wasn't because it was excessively bright in Wonderland. Rather, it was excessively... excessive. Colors were so rich, the sound of insects nearby made different sounds, and the bloody caterpillar was still at it. "After all these years, I can't believe I forgot what it was like." He blinked a few more times as his eyes adjusted to the extra sensory surroundings and his left arm tightened on Zelena's hand as he recalled the other things about this land. "Er, don't make eye contact with the caterpillar. He's a thug in the underground crime ring. I made the mistake of asking it directions the last time." He hurried Zelena along the path, taking his own advice by averting his attention and hoping the caterpillar didn't notice them. "I haven't been here since Cora's reign, love, but I assure you, this land is very dangerous. Heads roll here in a fate worse than death," he added quietly. Perhaps it wasn't so wise an idea to have an adventure here. His heart would have to take a secondary level of importance.

But if he knew Zelena at all, and he thought he did, she wasn't the sort to give up easily. He wasn't either, but now he felt responsible for her welfare and he'd brought her straight into danger. But then again, if his little Alice had truly been here as the rumors traveled, she was clever enough to get by. So could they.

"Now, if I were a fun-guy," he joked on the play on words with fungi, "where would I reside?" He didn't know much about fungus aside from it being a hallucinogenic drug and a pathogen for the worst of unfortunate curses, but he'd seen plenty of mildew and other lifeforms grow in the darkest, dampest places on ships. A very bad sign on a wooden hull. He side-eyed Zelena. She had a farm. Perhaps she was more educated on fungi.

Zelena  
“It’s… quite an attack on anyone’s visual nerves, I’d say,” Zelena commented when he said he had forgotten about all the colors.  
She felt a pressure increasing on her hand, and thought in the first moment he would be joking. But she came to realize that he was serious about it.  
“You know this… caterpillar?” Zelena’s eyes widened in surprise while Killian pulled her with him. She tried not to look at it, and was a bit worried when he said that the land would be very dangerous.  
Well, she didn’t know Wonderland, so probably it was dangerous for everyone who hadn’t been here. She probably would find out, and she had Killian by her side, someone who had been here already.

His comment about rolling heads though was something she couldn’t believe. She thought he was talking figuratively.  
“I’m sure we can manage, just… give me a warning if there are… I don’t know, book reading butterflies that don’t look where they are heading to or something like that,” she suggested. 

They headed down the way they had arrived, and Zelena had to giggle about his fungi wordplay.  
“Hm, good question, I know very little about fungi, but I know they are not fun-gy.” She knew her own wordplay wasn’t very good as she tried to change _funny_ into a fungi-word.  
“They often grow near trees or other plants, and they like moist locations in the shadow,” Zelena recalled her knowledge about fungi. 

“But we’re looking for magical fungi. In our case - a powerful magical fungi. So… I tend to say they grow only at places where magic itself is. Could be… a cave maybe, or a stone circle, something unusual. Is there anyone we could ask? Do you know someone who might be a help for us in Wonderland?” 

Killian  
KIllian looked at Zelena as they walked side by side and he smiled slightly in awe. A brilliant idea, he was certain. It showed how experienced in magic she was that she would know exactly where to look. The question left to answer was where would a high concentration of magic be in a land that was so different to both of their perceptions.

Unfortunately, he wasn't that familiar with Wonderland to have an answer to her question. He scratched at his jaw as he turned his attention to their surroundings. "Those are two locations I haven't encountered here. When I was last here, I went straight to Cora's palace and then got the hell out. There are a number of shady individuals here that I wouldn't risk crossing paths with again. But if we could enter the palace undetected... I recall a library in passing. Perhaps your mother was fond of journaling? Or perhaps she had a spell book?"

He didn't know Cora well enough besides their brief encounter to know her habits aside from beheading people or ripping their hearts out for her sick amusement.

Zelena  
Zelena looked surreptitiously at him when he scratched his jaw. Maybe she should tell him how much she loved seeing him doing that. Scratching at all. Her favourite place was his head, if he did that he always tilted his head, wrinkled his nose a bit, and the way he looked almost killed her. She just loved it.  
Seeing him doing this again made her smile.  
Hi knowledge of Wonderland was enough to drop a crucial hint. When she heard about a library she knew this was their best chance to find something.  
“That sounds like my mother’s books. She collected everything that contained spells, magic, potions, poison and dark knowledge. I know she gave Regina some books, but I’m sure we’ll find what we’re looking for in there. Hm…” Zelena had to rely again on Killian’s experience.

“I have never been in the palace, so I’m afraid I won’t be much of any help to think of a way of how to get in there. Unless… I might have no magic anymore, but I can still mix a potion. Provided we can find the ingredients of course. Wait, let me think… it was water from a cave, dust of a pair of fairy wings, but I think fairy-like wings will work as well, then morning dew that was touched by the sunlight, silverleaf, and…” Zelena snapped her fingers when she tried to remember the last ingredient, then it came to her. “Oh yes, and ghost mushrooms.” She gave Killian a questioning look. “Do you know by chance if we can find this in Wonderland? I don’t know if there’s a market where you can buy this? I can use it to make an invisibility potion. If not… we have to find another way inside.”

Killian  
Killian didn't know anything about producing a spell with ingredients and he was growing concerned that he might not be as helpful as Zelena would expect of him. "Look, love, I never have been the magical sort. I've just... found the right people to do the job for those seeking magic," he drawled. That would mean he had to think of who might have a connection in this land. "I do know the Queen of Hearts collected all sorts of oddities. There's a row of tidy little cottages beyond the palace. Perhaps they reside there as it appeared to be on the palace grounds." He shrugged as they walked.

Just then a small being jumped up from the nearby flora and scurried between Killian's legs before darting for Zelena's. Killian jumped back, having been startled by the creature. It appeared to be some sort of rodent. As it was trying to weave through his legs again, Killian stomped down hard on the creature's tail making it squeal in shock. "Don't kill me! You mentioning magical ingredients? I can help you!" the little creature cried as it tugged on its tail with all its strength. When Killian didn't let up on his foot, the creature added, "I know of a place, but its only for tiny folk and you're too big!"

"You're not helping your case," Killian added just to encourage it to continue explaining how exactly it could help them. He glanced up at Zelena with the slightest bit of amusement in his eyes as he tried to keep his mouth straight in seriousness. This might be just what we need, his eyes said.

"I'll help you get the ingredients, I meant to say..." the creature pleaded.

Killian would only lift his foot if Zelena was satisfied with the creatures promise.

Zelena  
When Killian told her his knowledge of magical ingredients was limited, Zelena intended to object as the things she had mentioned were actually non-magical items that only became magical when being mixed together. Well, maybe they contained their own magic. However, if he didn’t know any of this, magical or not, he couldn’t know where to find it either. But he offered a possible location where to find someone who knew more.  
Zelena nodded. “My mother is that type of character. Always prepared for any situation. I wouldn’t wonder if sheeeeeeee-iiiiiiiiiiih!”  
Zelena screamed when something darted at her feet, stumbled when she tried to evade it and landed on her back.

Startled about the sudden ‘attack’ and the speed it had appeared at, she looked at some kind of rodent, and saw that Killian had caught it by stomping on its tail.  
She was just about to swear to it, when she heard it _talk_.  
Zelena’s jaw dropped, and she stared at Killian.  
“It talks?” She began to recover from the shock, and stood up again. She patted her back to undust it, and remembered that she was in _Wonder_land.  
“I shouldn’t wonder too much about anything in Wonderland, should I?” She asked Killian, and looked at the rodent. It looked somehow… cute on second glance. And it seemed to know about magic.

Since Killian was ‘negotiating’ with success, she bent down to the little thing.  
“Be warned, pirates will always find traitors, so you better stick to your word.”  
The scene made it hard for Zelena not to giggle. 

The rodent gave Killian another scared look, and squeaked, “I’ll show you, I promise!”

Zelena got up again, and nodded at Killian with a faked deadly serious expression.  
“I think we can trust it, you may let it go.” 

When Killian lifted his foot Zelena thought the creature would flee, but it stayed, and began to brush its tail. The corner of her mouth twitched, as she thought it was cute.  
“Now, where can we get water from a cave, dust of a pair of fairy-like wings,silverleaf, and ghost mushrooms? I assume it’s easy to find suntouched morning dew by ourselves. But we need help to find the rest.”

Killian  
The little rodent nodded eagerly at Zelena’s request and, still stroking its poor abused tail, began to explain. “Under the jabberwocky’s blade doth the lilliflip raze.” Killian only stared at the rodent and it rolled its eyes. “It simply means that we can find these things after the daily mowing has happened.”

Killian grinned. “Well, why didn’t you say so the first time? Wonderland creatures and their bizarre speech...” He said the last part to Zelena before waving at the rodent to proceed. “Lead the way. And take it slow for the big folk, aye?”

The creature hopped off along the path. Jabberwock? Killian wondered about that and it’s blade mowing down... things. He winced at Zelena, concern in his eyes.

“Ah, this Jabberwocky... Is it something dangerous or a creature that simply... mows?” He asked.

“Oh, it’s dead, but tradition and the law requires that we continue the mowing so we never forget.”

Killian nodded at the tradition and law. “Who enforces the law?”

The creature stopped and looked back at them, it’s whiskers twitching in assessment. “The Queen of Diamonds, of course. Always consequences for not following the law,” it added meekly before continuing along the path. Killian glanced at Zelena again wondering if she had ever heard of such a queen. She must be Cora’s successor, he imagined.

Zelena  
“Under the what?” Zelena didn’t understand a single word, luckily Killian was able to translate it. Not that it would make things more understandable, and this time she asked, “Daily mowing?” Zelena shrugged her shoulders in a gesture of helplessness.  
“I get the impression that everyone and everything in this land is completely crazy.”  
She shook her head in disbelief when Killian told the rodent to lead the way - slowly.

Killian seemed to be as clueless as she was about a Jabberwocky, and the first part of the rodent’s answer was reassuring; contrary to the second, when it answered to Killian’s question about an obvious ruler. Zelena couldn’t imagine that she would really encounter another version of Cora here.  
A Queen of Diamonds didn’t sound like Cora at least.  
She felt Killian glance at her, and looked back at him. “What kind of consequences,” she whispered, and suddenly saw something shimmering in a silverish color at the bottom of large tree to her right.

“Wait, I think that’s one of the plants we’re looking for.” She left the path and stepped on the meadow with unnatural high grass. She made three steps and heard a squeaking from the rodent.  
“No! Not on the devouring green!”

Zelena stopped and turned to the rodent; or she intended to. She couldn’t lift her feet anymore, she was stuck; and felt she was sinking deeper into the meadow.  
“Uhm, I think I’m stuck here,” she said relatively calm. “I guess it’s a well-camouflaged bog. I… think I could need some help please.”

She turned towards Killian as best as she could, and stretched out her arms, but she couldn’t reach him.  
The rodent was hopping around Killian’s feet and it seemed to be quite agitated.  
Zelena sighed. “I think I don’t like Wonderland very much.” She looked around, but there was nothing like a branch or… something she could hold on to. There was only grass.  
“Is that one of the dangers you told me? A fake meadow?” She gave Killian an apologizing look and felt abashed that she didn’t take better care. He had warned her and she had underestimated the realm as it seemed. 

Killian  
About Zelena's guess that everything in Wonderland must be crazy, Killian nodded. "Aye, that's the idea." He didn't particularly like the idea of his daughter roaming this land supposedly alone either. But she was all fine and well now with Robyn, so he focused on the rodent as it meandered and zig-zagged to and fro along the path.

"Any consequence begs to be negative," he started to answer Zelena's next inquiry when she left the path. When the rodent squeaked in alarm, Killian's eyes widened and he reached out for Zelena to stop her but she was already out of reach.

"Devouring green?!" he repeated. The little rodent was underfoot and he glared down at the thing as he nearly stepped on it, again. "Every bloody thing in Wonderland is dangerous!" And here he was about to trip over the seemingly harmless rodent. Next thing he should expect, the friendly critter may bite him.

Since he couldn't reach Zelena without stepping off the path, he quickly shucked his coat and tossed it out to Zelena. Of course, his coat wasn't long enough. The leather weighed as much as several bovine but no, not sufficient for a dashing rescue. He threw it down on the path.

"Bloody hell," he muttered, trying to keep outwardly calm as his eyes searched their surroundings for something to use. "Got any rope, rodent?" Of course, the little creature didn't but perhaps it would have a clever idea.

Said rodent stood on its hind legs as if to make itself more substantial in its scant inches of height. "I am a dormouse," it said proudly. "Not a rodent." It dared to raise its nose in the air.

Killian barely paid any attention; his focus was on Zelena. "Stay calm, love. That bog's probably got some sort of panic-induced reaction, I'd wager." A few feet over the marsh, he saw a tree branch extending close enough that he figured he could climb over and reach for Zelena that way. As he reached out for the branch and stuck a boot on the trunk, his foot slipped but he managed to pull himself up before the devouring aspect of the bog took hold of him. With his middle laying over the branch, he reached for Zelena.

Zelena  
Tossing out his coat was a good idea, unfortunately she was too far away. She saw him dropping it and said to the rodent, “Don’t get any idea and pee on his coat! It’s leather!”  
The rodent looked at her and waddled off the coat in a hurry, looking at Killian when he asked it for a rope.  
The fact that it corrected Killian and said it would be a dormouse, and obviously proud of being one, made Zelena giggle despite the situation she was in. But she trusted Killian completely to come up with something, she even thought it was nice having a bit of an adventure. 

Yes, a bog was dangerous, but she was sinking very slowly. She could feel that, when she moved her feet back and forth, her shoes began to widen as they were stuck to tightly in the morast that she might be able to slip her feet out. She just needed something to hold on.  
“No worries, I’m calm.” She didn’t feel so calm, but she wasn’t scared either. “I’m not panicking!” She assured, and watched his attempt to climb a tree that would make it possible for him to get close enough to her.

When his foot slipped, Zelena inhaled sharply, and for a moment she caught her breath. Once she saw he had managed to get a hold and climbed the tree, she exhaled in relief.  
“I almost panicked now,” she said, and stretched her hand out to him as far as she could. She managed to touch his fingertips, and Zelena stretched a bit more.  
Her left foot slipped out of her shoe, and she got a hold on Killian’s fingers. With her now free foot she checked where the ground was solid, and with Killian’s help managed to free her other foot. Her shoes were lost in the bog, but not her life.

Thinking that she was safe now she looked up at Killian, and smiled.  
“Thanks Killian,” she made a step toward the path, still holding his hand.  
“You saved my…” Zelena never finished her sentence when the quicksand devoured her completely. She had lost her grip on Killian within the split of a second, and everything was dark. She felt sand in her mouth, nostrils, ears, eyes and simply _everywhere_. Aside from the fact that she couldn’t breathe anymore the sand was crushing her slowly.

She tried desperately to grab for something to hold on with her hands above her, but there was only sand. Her lungs were screaming for air, and she felt sand getting into her airways.  
She held her breath as long as she could, but after a bit more than one minute she needed oxygen.  
Her last thought before she fell unconscious was Killian, and the feeling of regret that she didn’t tell him how much he meant to her.  
Zelena fell into darkness.

Killian  
Just when Killian thought they had gotten out of the devouring bog trouble, Zelena slipped through his fingers. Killian yelled out in alarm when he saw her head slip through the grass and a cloud of sand poofed over her head, the only thing left for him to see as evidence that she had been there.

The dormouse shrieked and began running willy-nilly again, but Killian paid it no heed. He scrambled up on his knees, careful not to fall in. Should he dive in? He'd never get out! A plethora of curses were uttered under his breath as he looked around for something to help. There had to be something!

And something brushed against his cheek. He glanced up to see something shining at him. Two somethings. Were those eyes? _"Go on, give a tug,"_ a soft voice said.

"What?" he demanded, confused. But a vine uncurled. It looked furry like... an animal's tail and he squinted his eyes to try and see what had spoken to him, but he wasn't going to waste time in wondering in Wonderland. He did as suggested and tugged on the vine.

_Ow,_ the voice said but chuckled which indicated that it hadn't hurt... whatever it was.

There seemed to be enough of the vine so Killian hurriedly wrapped it around his waist and tied it into a knot and dove into the sand headfirst.

The sand instantly filled his nostrils, his ears, and he was certain if he opened his mouth at all, it would go down his throat. Whatever the stuff was, it was not sand. It felt semi-liquid like water at the rate it was slipping around him. He felt it slide into his clothing, working its way into squeezing him into a quick death. Zelena! he thought furiously as his hand moved, searching for anything.

He was going to die. So much for the wedding and walking Alice down the aisle. But at least she wouldn't have to see him suffering any longer.

His arm struck something hard yet soft, movable. Clothing, an arm, a waist. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled on the vine. The vine jerked and retracted, pulling both of them up and out of the bog. It dragged them to the pathway as Killian coughed an explosive amount of water-sand from his mouth, blowing it from his nostrils. The vine uncoiled itself from around Killian's waist, but he barely noticed.

Zelena, on the other hand, was covered in sand and not moving. Killian brushed his fingers over her eyes, across her cheeks, and opened her mouth. Full of the sand! "Zelena, love, you've got to cough!" He rolled her onto her side and whacked her back, hoping that would dispel the sand from her mouth. He saw that it slipped out of her mouth just as easily as it likely went in. When she was still out of it, he realized he would have to treat her like a half-drowned pirate. "You're not leaving me alone in Wonderland. I forbid it!" Panic laced the demand in his tone. Laying her on her back again, he tilted her head back, opened her mouth, pinched her nose, and set his mouth to hers to blow a lungful of oxygen in.

Zelena  
Killian dove for her only seconds after she had lost consciousness. She had stopped breathing, but her heart had not given up yet. Luckily both were pulled out of the death trap in time.  
When Killian had made sure her airways were free again Zelena just needed a little help to remember how to breathe on her own. She would be always thankful that fate had given her a pirate to save her, because her condition was the same after someone drowned in water.  
So after he blew some oxygen in her lungs, thrice to be exact, her lungs started to work again and she coughed.  
She rolled onto her side and gasped for breath. Everything hurt, and there was still sand everywhere, but at least she could breathe again. 

Once her coughing eased she became aware of what happened, and looked at Killian who was kneeling over her.  
Her hand searched for his, and she squeezed it gratefully.  
“Thank you,” she managed to say. “You saved my life twice now.”  
She saw he was covered with sand as well, and realized he must have jumped into the quicksand too, to get her out.  
Zelena frowned when she tried to understand how he was able to get both of them out, and saw a long furry vine or whatever nearby.  
“Are you alright? What is this thing?” She nodded weakly toward it, and decided to stay a bit longer on the ground, as she needed some time to recover from the near death experience.

The dormouse was shivering and hid behind Killian’s boot. Zelena saw its tail twitching and wondered why it was hiding.  
“What’s up with the dormouse,” she asked and saw that the dormouse was looking up to the tree where also the vine led to.  
Zelena looked in the direction as well, and found herself staring in two very large yellow glowing eyes. It gave Zelena the creeps.  
“Killian, there are eyes in the tree. And to be honest - they are scary. Please don’t tell me the furry vile ends somewhere else than on the other end of those eyes.”  
If Zelena had learned one thing about Wonderland in the meantime, then it was that Killian had been right and _everything_ was dangerous. Even a meadow. A trembling dormouse and scary eyes couldn’t be a good sign.  
She got into a sitting position, and stared up the tree, transfixed by those eyes.

Killian  
Killian sat down heavily beside Zelena when she started coughing. She lived! He was grinning ear to ear, happy that Wonderland hadn't taken another victim. What he didn't notice was the Dormouse fretting behind Zelena's shoe until she pointed it out. "Just being a rodent, I suppose. Scared of its shadow and all." He stood up slowly and reached for Zelena's hand to help her up, meanwhile glancing at the furry vine on the path near them. "Er, that thing... I don't know. A voice told me to use it and I had no time to argue with an intangible being. I suppose it's a vine?" His boot grazed it again and it yanked back into the trees as if Killian had startled it.

Killian stared in puzzlement at the trees as Zelena pointed out the eyes watching them. He pulled Zelena closer to him now that he had a moment to bloody think about decisions. Speaking quietly, he whispered, "I think we should go."

_"Oh... but why hurry? Didn't take you for ones to scurry. Like that delicious mouse."_ The voice seemed to echo around them, but Killian could see motion in the leaves of the tree he had used to dive into the bog.

"What do you want!" Killian shouted at the thing and drew his sword. "You helped me save her. You pulled us both out of the bog." He didn't understand why it would do that if it meant them harm.

_"Clearly, one's a snack, but two's a meal... And three makes dessert."_ A rumbling chuckle echoed around them. A slinky grey-purple feline materialized and began to roll over the bog as if it wasn't touching it at all.

Killian took a step backwards, guiding Zelena with him. He felt like his eyes were playing tricks on him. One moment the cat was approaching, the next it had vanished, but when he blinked it had crept ever nearer. "Stay back!"

The dormouse was in hysterics, conflicted with whether it should stay as promised or flee for its life.


	4. Chapter 4

Zelena  
“A voice? What voice?” She managed to break eye contact when Killian was speaking of a_voice_. He had helped her up, and Zelena began to brush the rest of sand out of her face. She looked at the dormouse and saw the panic in its eyes. In the same moment the vine yanked back, and Zelena stopped dusting herself off.

It seemed her grave concerns had become true - the vine belonged to the eyes. Killian pulled her closer and Zelena grabbed his arm.  
“I won’t argue with you about this,” she said when he suggested to go.  
Then she could hear the voice too. A _delicious_ dormouse… the words made it clear to Zelena why the dormouse was panicking.  
Zelena stared at the tree again and assumed, since the eyes were gone but the leaves moved, that whatever was hiding in the tree would come down now.

Killian demanded to know what it wanted, but Zelena was not sure she wanted to know. Unfortunately, the answer was as bad as she thought.  
“You want to _eat_ us?” Zelena’s voice was higher than usual, and then she could see something fall off the tree that looked like a giant cat. And it grinned.  
Zelena’s eyes widened when she saw the wide grin and the amount of sharp teeth for a second, before the thing began to roll and _float_ over the bog. 

She felt Killian pulling her with him, and Zelena followed, her eyes still on the cat thing. It was gone. Zelena blinked, and suddenly saw the grey-purple fur being closer than before.  
“What….” she began, but her words were stuck in her throat.  
Killian ordered it to stay back, and it vanished again only to appear again even closer.

Zelena saw the dormouse being hysterical, and she couldn’t blame it.  
The cat drew nearer and Zelena looked around, trying to find _anything_ that would be helpful. But what could they do against a giant cat that had the ability to vanish and appear when- and wherever it wanted?

“Wait, please,” Zelena begged, “we’re not very tasty. There must be something we… can offer you instead our stringy meat.”  
She had no other idea than to try and trade their lives against something. There was no place to hide, and nothing they could defend themselves with. Killian’s coat was still lying on the ground, and Zelena didn’t even have shoes anymore.  
Once again the former witch regretted deeply that she had given up her magic.  
The little dormouse squeaked in panic, and Zelena picked it up, and hid it in her hands.

Killian  
While backing up, Killian stepped on his coat and briefly glanced down at it as he stepped back further. While keeping his eyes on the cat who was playing tricks on their eyes, disappearing and reappearing, he leaned down and picked up the coat with his hook.

"Take the sword, love," he whispered to Zelena, tilting the handle to her. He could hear the dormouse and its chirruping in her grasp, but he needed a free hand.

_"Oh yes,"_ the cat agreed in a slithering sort of tone. _"Give her the sword and she gives me the delicious mousey."_ It made a smacking sound with its tongue as its eyes trained on Zelena.

Zelena  
Finding herself with a sword in her hand, Zelena looked at Killian in surprise. “I never did sword fighting. I just know the pointy end goes in the other guy.”  
The sword was heavy, but Zelena thought she might be able to do some stokes before she had no strength to hold it anymore.  
Zelena’s eyes wandered to the cat. It was demanding the dormouse. The former witch looked at the shivering small being in her hand and she got angry. 

Determined to teach the grinning cat a lesson she shoved the dormouse simply into her blouse, and lifted the sword.  
“It might be a dormouse, but that doesn’t mean it needs to end up in your jaws. And neither should we. Don’t underestimate a pirate and a witch, cat. Or… whatever you are.”

Zelena made a step back when the cat had laid its eyes on her, and grabbed the handle with both hands, ready to defend herself. And Killian of course. And the dormouse.  
The cat grinned, disappeared, and Zelena blinked. In the next moment she felt a warm breath at her neck and whirled around. The sword slowed down her movement, and the cat was almost over her.  
One of its lage paws came up, and Zelena found herself pressed down to the ground while the cat was sniffing in her neckline for its antipasti.  
Zelena narrowed her eyes, and used the handle of the sword to introduce it with the cat’s nose.

Hissing the cat jumped back, and used a paw to rub it over its nose.  
_“Why are you protecting a dormouse? Is it really worth it?”_

Zelena used the time to come back to her feet. “You intend to eat us anyway.” Her sword was at the ready, and she eyed the cat. She could only hope Killian had a plan; or at least they had a chance together to defeat this cat.

Killian  
When Zelena told him the only thing she may know about swordsmanship, his focus left the cat as he glanced at her in wonder. He'd said those very words once upon a time and it brought back a strange feeling in him. A sense of adventure, of challenging a terrible opponent, and a certain kinship with Zelena.

And then she shoved the dormouse into her blouse and Killian's eyebrows shot up. A clever place to secure the rodent, for certain, but still surprising.

In his distraction, the cat had taken the opportunity to disappear again. Killian looked around themselves desperately trying to place the cat and gripped the collar of the coat. Zelena was on the ground before he realized it had reappeared behind them. "No!" he shouted.

At the same time Zelena used the sword, Killian shoved the heel of his boot at the beast's heavy side. It moved back from Zelena and Killian was ready. He tackled the cat with the coat between them, using the heavy leather to keep the cat's teeth and claws from striking at him. Pulling the hook back, he slammed the curved end down on the heavy body beneath him. "Run, Zelena!" he shouted at her as the thing wiggled beneath him.

Something felt odd with a cracking, popping, electric current buzzing around him and a moment later, he found himself on hand and knees on the ground. His coat and the cat were gone. It took him a few seconds to realize the cat had actually disappeared again--of course it could do that--but it had taken his coat with it.

Once he stood up, and was still frowning at the ground, he looked slowly up at Zelena with a growing sense of horror filling him. "The pixie beans were in my coat pocket."

Zelena  
When she had hit the cat’s nose Killian had not been standing around watching.  
Zelena could see he had his hook and coat ready. Then he attacked the cat. She could see that he sank his hook into the beast’s side, and told her to run.

Her feet didn’t do what she told them, as she was staring with eyes widened at the scene that happened next.  
Killian was on his hand and knees on the ground, and the cat had vanished.  
That was good, wasn’t it? Or would it appear within a second and kill him?  
Zelena looked around, but there was no beast to be seen. She hoped it wouldn’t come back and dared to step to Killian.

“Are you al…” she wanted to ask, but she could see something was wrong. When he finally looked at her Zelena could see the horror in his eyes.  
“Killian?”  
The beans were lost. Zelena blinked. “Beans?” She needed a moment to get what he was implying as she had feared he had been seriously injured!  
Well, the loss of the beans were indeed a problem, but Zelena didn’t care at the moment.  
She dropped the sword, flung herself into his arms, and gave him a tight hug before she let him go again.  
“Bloody hell, Killian, don’t ever scare me like that! I thought the beast had injured you!”

Something moved in her blouse, and a pair of ears and eyes followed by a nose appeared out of her neckline.  
“Oh, I’m sorry, are you okay?” Zelena carefully took the dormouse out of her blouse and remembered that she had probably squeezed her a bit when she had hugged Killian.  
“Is the horrible beast gone,” the dormouse squeaked, and looked around in fear.  
Zelena set it down and looked at Killian.  
“It seems to be gone, unfortunately it took our beans along.”  
She reached out to take his hand to comfort him. “Don’t worry, I’m sure magical beans are not the only way to leave Wonderland. And who knows, maybe we can get them back somehow. All that matters is that you’re not hurt. You aren’t hurt, are you?”

Killian  
He had just told Zelena that their mode of transport home was lost to them and she reacted entirely in a manner he hadn’t expected. He blinked in surprise as she flung herself onto him, hugging him even and he reacted by squeezing her back. He hadn’t been hugged like that in a long time and it caught him off guard, despite being humbling; he hadn’t realized how much he needed the embrace. 

She pulled back and explained. He wrinkled his brow and half grinned. “Injured? Me? Of course not, love. We’re only...stuck here. Temporarily, of course.” They would find another way. He was close enough to her that he could see the cat hadn’t hurt her face or neck anyway. She still had some sand in her hair, so he reached up and pushed his fingers through some of the locks framing her face to dispel the sand. “You’re alright as well? Two incidents and only in Wonderland for half an hour...” He shook his head.

When she looked down suddenly at her own chest, his eyes followed at the wiggling going on in her shirt to find the dormouse peeking over. He’d forgotten about the rodent. 

He took that moment to pick up his dropped sword and returned it to its scabbard at his side. Meanwhile, Zelena began to explain to the dormouse about the beans again and that particular fact had temporarily slipped his mind too. Zelena had done a good job at distracting him from that particular worry. She didn’t seem too perturbed about the beans, just that he was alright. He wasn’t sure how to feel about that level of care except that it felt nice. “No, I wasn’t injured, I assure you.” She slipped her hand in his and he interlaced his fingers with hers, a smile spreading across his face. Perhaps if she wasn’t concerned over how they would get home, he shouldn’t be either. 

He looked down at the scampering dormouse who seemed to have recovered from the shock of the cat and nodded at the distant horizon. “I believe you were taking us to find some ingredients, Dormouse. Carry on.”

Killian had had a lot of time in his many years to think over when the end may come for him. A time or two long before Alice was born, he was certain that would be it for him. Once with Liam on board the Jewel of the Realm as they sailed into a storm, briefly when he’d lost his hand and had to make a decision on where his life would lead, and the previous night with the most intense pain he’d ever experienced to that point. But with the most recent brushes with catastrophe at their backs, Killian realized something rather important but he’d keep that information to himself for now. As they followed behind the dormouse, Killian leaned toward Zelena. “You had excellent form with my sword. We should get one forged just for you.” He squeezed her hand.

Zelena  
Hugging him was a spontaneous reaction since she really had thought he was injured, but luckily he wasn’t. When he hugged her back she felt relieved instead of being embarrassed. It seemed he was okay with it.  
Yet she felt her cheeks turning slightly pink when he fiddled with some of her strains and freed them from sand.  
“Thanks,” she said, and secretly wished he would do that more often.  
“I’m fine thanks to you.” She gave him a bright smile.  
“Well, if I remember correctly, I suggested to go on an adventure. Here we are now. Although I never thought Wonderland would surprise us with deathtraps. Exciting, isn’t it?”  
She was joking of course, just to hide that she actually had been scared for a few moments. 

The poor dormouse was probably regretting that it had ever scared them, but it kept its word and hopped along the way to help them find what they seeked when Killian told it to.  
Zelena and Killian followed, their fingers still interlaced, and Zelena felt her heart beating faster. Walking hand in hand with him felt so good. She squeezed his fingers a bit, just to feel them, and had a smile on her face.  
When Killian complimented her on using the sword, she blushed. “My own sword? I’d like that, but only if there is someone who teaches me properly.” She blinked at him and beamed.  
Learning how to wield a sword with Killian’s help? Oh, she would _love_ to do that.

She suddenly remembered the reason why she had set foot into the bog in the first place, and addressed the rodent, “hey, dormouse, the leaves I saw on the other side of the bog, weren’t that silverleaves? Is there a way to get them?”

The rodent stopped, and turned to her, looking slightly hurt by being called ‘dormouse’.  
It cleaned the tip of its nose, and said clearly offended, “Also dormouses have a name. We might be small and have a tail to stomp on,” here it gave Killian a careful look, “but we are respectful.”  
Zelena had to bite back a smile, and nodded apologizing. She began to really like that little rodent.  
“My bad, I didn’t ask. So how can we address you?”  
The dormouse stretched itself to appear bigger, and said “Sebastianodolfosnnanagfashtalli.” It bowed, and its nose was twitching.  
“I’m… not sure I can remember that. Is there… a short version?”  
“Sebastian,” the rodent said.  
“Well then, Sebastian, it’s nice to meet you. This is Killian, and I’m Zelena.” She pointed at the pirat first, then at herself.  
“Now, the silverleaf, please?”

Killian  
Killian chuckled at Zelena's excitement over their adventure so far. "Aye, it's exciting. I'm glad you came back for me this morning." He'd be wallowing in that horrid room above the bar alone had she not.

"You can be certain I'd teach you. Only the best instructor for you," he winked at her. It felt good to talk as such to her. It made him feel like his old self again, the sure-of-himself pirate. He had certainly missed this.

While the dormouse informed them that it had an actual name and scampered off to retrieve the ingredients Zelena had been after, Killian tugged at her hand for her attention. "Zelena," he said more seriously. "This voyage shouldn't be only for me. Perhaps Wonderland has the key to restoring your magic. You wouldn't need lessons in swords if you could defend yourself the way you know best. Perhaps your mother's books will hold something valuable."

Zelena  
She gave him another squeeze with her hand, and said "I promised I'd be back for you. You…" she hesitated, and wanted to say _scared me actually_, but she made it a "I was worried. And I can't wait for our first sword fight lesson. I always wanted to become a pirate," she teased a bit.  
She said it the moment when Killian tugged at her hand, and she looked at him.  
“What is it, Killian,” she asked when he suddenly had this serious expression.  
His idea made her speechless. Restoring her magic?  
Zelena bit her lower lip. She hadn’t thought about the possibility yet.

“Killian, I… I don’t know,” she said hesitantly. “It might be even more complicated to restore my magic than cure your heart.”  
She sighed, it was a sweet idea, but Zelena knew that it wouldn’t work. She tried to explain it.  
“It’s a nice idea, Killian. I’m afraid my magic can’t be simply ‘restored’. No, that’s wrong, it can be restored, but only if we find something that contains a source of magic. See, my magic was absorbed by the crimson heart. It had no power, it was just a worthless piece of OZ things. It needed to be filled to work. And this is the only way I can get my magic back too - I need to find something that contains someone else’s magic.”  
She felt her heart sinking, but then took a deep breath. Was it really that bad having no magic? Of course, magic was an advantage, and sometimes she missed having her powers, but the truth was that she had managed to continue living her life without having magic.  
She smiled slightly. “Well, maybe my mother has some magical artifacts lying around somewhere, but I don’t want to raise my hopes. And I don’t want to miss a sword fight lesson with you.”  
She let go of his hand now, and nudged him gently with her elbow.  
“I want to learn how to wield a sword.” 

Sebastian suddenly turned to the right, and followed a path that led actually into the bog again.  
“Hey, dorm- ehm, I mean Sebastian! You’re leading us back into the bog.”  
Zelena stopped, and narrowed her eyes when the dormouse turned to them.  
With its squeaking voice it told them that this would be the only way through the devouring green, and they needed to cross it to get to the leaves Zelena needed. 

“Well, depends if we trust him, I’d say,” Zelena said to Killian and pointed at the rodent.  
She could already see the silver leaves, they were about 50 meters ahead.  
“You better stay here in case… you need to rescue me again. I’ll just go there and pick up the leaves, okay?”

Killian  
Killian reached out to capture Zelena's hand as she started to step back into the devouring bog again. "Ah, not so fast." He shook his head as he watched the dormouse hop through the grass. "I'm not having you go in there yet again for me. Let the rodent get it," he said under his breath as he watched it suspiciously. It wasn't being devoured but neither had the cat. "I suspect it only devours non-Wonderlandians and I don't trust any of them. That bloody mouse led us to the cat in the first place."

The castle was always in sight just above the trees with its looming structure. He was familiar with that. He was not familiar with any of its creatures well enough to trust them. The only one he did trust was Zelena.

Zelena  
She stopped when Killian took her hand to prevent her from entering the bog.  
“If you think that it’s going to work,very well.” Zelena had to admit that he had a point with his theory, although she didn’t necessarily thought that it was Sebastian’s presence that summoned the cat. However, she didn’t say anything. She knew he was only worried about her safety and she didn’t want to argue with him when he was right. Partly.

A sudden squeaking, that sounded more like… well, _singing_ attracted Zelena’s attention.  
In the distance she could see Sebastian hopping around like mad, and brawling a song.  
A dormouse song as it seems because it was a squeaking melody.  
He held some strange looking berries in his paws and Zelena gave Killian a look.  
“Let me guess - those berries are not for eating.” 

Zelena had never even dreamed of seeing a stoned dormouse in her life, but this was Wonderland.  
“Well, I assume we have to continue without him. He’s enjoying life as it seems. Guess it might take a while until he’s off the berries.”  
Zelena sniggered. “I have to admit I kind of like him, but I trust you. Maybe it’s fate.”  
She linked arms with him, and smirked.  
“Guess we have to find another way into the castle, without being invisible,” she said, and looked at it in the distance.  
“I don’t know if you have any plans, but… maybe we should go there and observe what is happening there. Maybe we can find a way in. And if we’re lucky I can find some shoes that fit me. I don’t know how long I can walk around here without proper footwear.

Killian  
The squeaking was rather melodious in an intoxicated manner and Killian could not repress a grin of amusement at Zelena's question. "I'd wager not."

Killian drew his arm closer to himself to secure Zelena's hold on his arm as he listened to her. "I know a way in. Hopefully, it hasn't changed with the new ruler," he said dubiously as he glanced down at her feet. She had lost the shoes in the bog, but there was no helping that. "Look at us, half dressed. I've lost my coat and you, your shoes. If you need help, I've carried rum barrels heavier than you, love. Tell me if you need a lift and I'll be happy to oblige. But for the moment," he drew his sword from the sheathe again. "What do you say about practicing?" He rotated his wrist to demonstrate as if he was parrying with an opponent. "As you said, the pointy end goes in the other guy. I believe you simply need confidence to start. It will come naturally to you in the heat of the moment. You did so well with the cat." He offered it to Zelena to take as they walked with no haste toward the castle.

Meanwhile, he kept watch on their surroundings in case some other strange creature happened upon them. What he didn't realize was that they were in fact being watched.


	5. Chapter 5

Zelena  
“You do?” She asked in surprise when Kilian mentioned he’d know a way in. “May I assume you found it on your way out last time? Or did my… my mother let you go?”  
She followed his glance to her bare feet, and laughed about his comment being half dressed.  
“It’s so sweet you compare me to a rum barrel, love,” Zelena said with dry sarcasm and managed _not_ to smile although she was close to burst into laughter.  
“In case I feel the need to ‘have a lift’, you can roll me down the road by kicking me.”  
She looked at him, being dead serious for about four seconds before she started to giggle.  
“I just imagine you carrying me over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes. No worries, I’ll stick to the grassy part. But thank you for the offer.”

Her eyes wandered down to the sword he was drawing, and was actually surprised.  
“Practicing with the sword? Here? Now? Are you sure I can manage without shoes?”  
However, his offer was too tempting for Zelena not to try, so she nodded, and blushed when he said she would be a natural and had done well with the cat.  
“I watched you a few times,” she admitted. “Not really in a fight, but how you handle the sword.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Well, I think I used the wrong end on the cat. Just glad it worked anyway.”

She took it carefully when he offered it to her, and thought that let alone holding it was exciting. If she really could learn how to _use_ it…  
Zelena parried and hit some imaginary foes, not having any idea if she was doing it how it should be done, but she knew Killian would teach her.  
“I think learning how to wield the sword is as exciting as using magic.”

Killian  
Killian scoffed at Zelena's joking about rolling her down a hill but laughed nonetheless.

"On the contrary," Killian said as he watched Zelena parry with the sword. "I found the way in. Your sister got me into Wonderland with a hat, but I had to survive on my own. I sought an audience with your mother, so I wasn't too terribly bothered by getting caught, however. No, like this."

Killian raised Zelena's forearm, straightening her wrist. "This is the proper form." He stepped directly behind her so that her right shoulder would be against his right arm and held her arm by the wrist, manipulating her movements. "A narrower target is best." Here, he gently turned her with his left arm so that her right arm was extended out to the side and that her body would face perpendicular to the imaginary opponent. And her back flush against his front. When he turned his face to look at Zelena, his breath would mingle around her hair and ear. "Never lose eye contact," he said quietly as he stood there for just a moment longer, before letting go of her wrist and taking a step back. "Now you try."

His cheeks were flushed but he kept his eyes on Zelena. This was her lesson on swordplay. Very important business. Oh, she was right. Wielding a sword was very exciting, but seeing her doing so was fascinating.

Zelena  
Zelena had no time to look at him in surprise about hearing he had found a way in and the circumstances. He was suddenly behind her, and Zelena felt her heart beating faster when he guided her. He was so close, she could feel her back touching his body briefly. Her arm touched his while he guided her, and his hand felt so good on her wrist.  
She blushed when she tried to pay attention to what he showed her to do. She felt his breath on her ear and hair, and when he told her to never lose eye contact she looked at him.

Did she see a slight reddish colour on his cheeks? Zelena had no time to think about it, because Killian wanted to see if she had understood what he had just taught her.  
He stepped away from her, and Zelena tried to remember everything.  
It was actually simple. She had just to imagine feeling his hand on her wrist again, and the moves almost happened by itself.

When she had finished the exercise, she turned to him, to see if he was satisfied with her.  
“So? Am I hopeless or still a natural?” She was breathing faster, although she shouldn’t. _He_ was breathtaking. Meeting Killian again had probably been one of her luckiest moments ever. No matter what kind of dangers were waiting for them in Wonderland - she had a pirate by her side, and she knew they would succeed. They had to. For the sake of his heart.  
She felt even more attracted to him than before.

Killian  
Killian was grinning with pride at Zelena's perfect mimicry of the maneuver. When she turned back to him for his opinion, he approached to her side again to guide her forward so they could continue on their trek to the castle. "Just outstanding, Zelena. If only I had a second sword, we could duel." He motioned with his hand as if he could imagine doing so and how exhilarating that would be. Despite the dangers, he was enjoying the adventure, but it was all for the present company.

There was a murmur of noise ahead and Killian ducked his head suddenly, then motioned toward the bushes for he and Zelena to take cover in.

Peering through the foliage, they would see a changing of the guards about to take place at the backside of the castle.

"See there?" He whispered to Zelena. "It's just as I recall. One guard to stand watch at all times. I knocked one over the head to gain entry." As they watched, the new guard looked left and right before creeping toward a tree to relieve himself of his bladder's contents. Killian grinned at Zelena. This was their chance.

After running in through the entry, they would find a long, dark hallway with a series of lit torches to show the way. Killian had to think of where he went but it was so many years ago. And he had been caught rather quickly and taken to the Queen. That was precisely not what he wanted this time. A noise echoed around them and Killian pulled Zelena back with him into an alcove. Listening, he could hear footsteps approaching.

Zelena  
His compliment made her blush even more, and she smiled.  
“Oh, well… we could use two sticks for the beginning,” she assumed, and gave the sword back to him so he could store it away in his sheath.

She heard the noises too, and followed Killian quickly into the bushes. She could see two guards. Knocking one over shouldn’t be a problem, but Killian had something else in mind.  
While the guard was busy with emptying his bladder, she nodded and followed Killian inside. Everything went well, and they were not seen. Zelena was now glad she had lost her shoes, as even low heels had probably made some noise.

The hallway was scary with the shadows of the dancing flames out of the torches, and Zelena was tensed.  
“Do you know where the library is,” Zelena whispered.  
There was no time to answer, as footsteps were approaching. Killian pulled her into an alcove, and Zelena stood pressed against the wall beside him, and didn’t dare to breathe.  
The footsteps became louder, and voices were to be heard.

“I miss the good old beheading,” Zelena could hear a male voice. “I mean look at me - the executioner of the Queen of hearts. My scythe was always sharp, and now… it’s nothing more than a wall decoration.”  
Someone laughed, another male voice. “Well, I too miss our Queen. Things were more… interesting. Do you remember that man she told you to behead? The one with the hat?”  
The executioner sniggered. “Oh, I remember him. He was quite shocked when he could see his body. But the Queen wanted a magical hat.”  
“I wish I’d know where she is now…”

The voices and also the footsteps faded, and Zelena took a deep breath.  
“Did you hear that?” She asked Killian. “Maybe the new Queen is… nicer than Cora.”  
When they were sure they were alone again, Zelena hoped Killian would find that library soon. She knew going through all the books would take time, and chances increased that they would be caught.

Killian  
Killian snorted as quietly as he could. "I sincerely doubt any queen of Wonderland would be nice." He had been lucky enough that he'd managed to talk his way out of being beheaded or worse by Cora and her men. This new queen was still an unknown. What if what she did was worse than beheading? He didn't want to find out.

The two executioners continued along their way and when they could not be heard, Killian glanced out of the alcove to see the hallway was empty.

He was wracking his brain for any recollection of a library, when he remembered. "Aye, I know where the library is. It's how Cora and I left the castle again. There's a vault behind a shelf, for one thing, and..." He felt a chill creep along his skin. "Hearts. A room of hearts." He grimaced as he looked at Zelena. "But aside from that, there were bottles of... things. Potions? Ingredients? I didn't get a close look." He had been too busy trying to appease Cora at the time.

Killian stopped in the hallway as he noticed the empty armor suit decorating the hallway held a sword. Tilting his head, he saw that it was a fairly decent blade. "Might need sharpening, but..." Carefully, he wiggled the finger joints of the suit and managed to loosen the sword. "There you are, love! A temporary sword of your own until we can have one forged." Grinning, he made an eye of interest at the thought of a future sword fight with her, but for now, they had to get to the library. And there it was. It opened into a high-ceiling room. So many books. Where the devil were they to start on magic? Perhaps they could simply go straight to the vault and find an object imbued with magic for Zelena to take.

Zelena  
If there was one thing Zelena had learned in the meantime when it came to Wonderland then that she better trust Killian’s feeling.  
It was actually better to reckon with the worst and being corrected later.  
For now Zelena decided to focus on the library. Killian seemed to remember where it was, and when he told her about the secret vault and the amount of hearts she curled her lips.  
“Typical for my mother. I mean the hearts. No wonder she called herself Queen of hearts.”  
When he mentioned bottles Zelena was intrigued. “With a bit of luck I can find something that will make it easier for us to get out of here again,” she whispered.

On their way to the secret bookshelf Killian suddenly stopped at an empty armor suit, and took the sword. He held it out for Zelena, and she took it, although she didn’t know if this was the appropriate moment for stealing a sword.  
“Am I supposed to carry it the whole time?” she asked. Contrary to Killian she didn’t have a sheath to store it away, but maybe they could find one later. Being armed was not that bad at all. And two swords they could fight better than with one.

Zelena followed the pirate, and when they entered the library Zelena felt a tinge of panic. So many books, where should they begin? She didn’t have magic that would help finding what she needed but… well, her mother had been a neat person, and she also kept her things in order.  
She probably needed a moment to get familiar with the system, and she said “Try to find that hidden vault, maybe I can use something out of it. I think... “ she stepped closer to a shelf and couldn’t believe how lucky she was, “yes, I think I already found something.”  
She took a thick book out of the shelf, and blew off the dust before she opened it.  
It was about magic, and plants, and even if this book didn’t contain the special funghi they were looking for, she had at least found out where she had to look.  
The former witch began to skim through the pages.

Killian  
"Just set it down while you search," he suggested about the sword as they entered the library. He nodded as she told him to find the vault. As he walked, he heard her mention that she found something. Excellent. This was all going so well.

Meanwhile, Killian recalled that he had been too busy focusing on Cora and thinking furiously about his own survival and of course his revenge at the time, that he wasn't looking too closely at where Cora had led him. There was a book shelf near a fireplace, perhaps. There was one nearby and he approached it, studying the stonework for anything out of place. The sconces that held the candles had ornate decor but one differed from the other with a slight protrusion. He tugged on it with his hook and felt it give way. A passage opened as the stones scraped a pathway to lead into a dark entry way. Grinning, he stepped in. Unfortunately, there were still some hearts beating in there. The sound wasn't as loud as he recalled. Perhaps some of the unlucky bastards had died in all the years. But he wasn't there for a heart. He was there for an item imbued with magic. And of course some of the other things Zelena had suggested for an invisibility spell. And perhaps for a cure for poisoned fungi. His eyes scanned the shelf over a work bench. Rows and rows of bottles were covered in dust, so he inhaled and blew at the bottles nearest him. A cloud of dust billowed out toward him and he waved his hand through it to dispel the dust.

_Crushed Forget Me Nots, Liquid Forget Me Pots, Grow, Small, Silence,_ along with a variety of random body parts to include eyes, wings, tongues, tails. Killian made a face. He had no idea what the hell they would need. This was Zelena's area of expertise. He didn't see any amulets either among the debris on the work bench. His eyes roamed the bottles again and he plucked two from the shelf and slipped them in his pocket. A little forgetting potion might come in handy if they were captured by the queen. The antidote must be the Forget Me Not, he assumed. He grabbed a few other things to include the wings and tails since he recalled Zelena mentioning wings.

When he emerged from the vault, he set the collection of dusty bottles on top of the table beside her book. "Have you found anything?"

Zelena  
The sword way leaning against the shelf while Zelena stood there, her nose buried in the book. She didn’t even realize that Killian had found the hidden entrance and left her alone in the library.  
The first book was interesting, but there was nothing about the fungi. So she took another book, and opened it. This could be the book she was looking for. It was all about fungi. And then she seemed to have found it. The effect that was described in the book fit, and just when Zelena read about the part that described a possible cure, Killian came back.  
She was only distracted by a second by his question if she had found anything, so she missed to read a word. A single, but very important word.

She looked at and beamed at him. “I have found it, I’m sure, and I know how to cure you! Killian, we can do this! You can go back to Alice and hug her as often as you wish to! And what’s even better - my mother has made sure just by her crazy tick to collect hearts that we can even find the best.”  
Zelena was so happy that she missed to give Killian the details to understand what she was actually talking about.  
Since he looked at her as he didn’t seem to understand a single word, she tried to explain.

“I’m sorry, you’re missing a part. See, it’s actually simple. All we have to do is to give you a new heart. Don’t worry, it’s just… a heart, a pure heart. It won’t have any effect on who you are. You’ll still be the same pirate, but without the poison in your heart. And thanks to my mother, there is a vault full of hearts. We can… simply take one, and heal yours. Well, okay, not _that_ easily, we have to purge it first. It’s still linked to its owner. But that shouldn’t be a problem. I see you found a lot of potions. I bet there is one we can use.”  
Zelena was so excited that she simply tore the page out of the book, folded it, and stored it in her bra. Just in case they had to leave in a hurry. Then she began to look through the vials.

“Killian, would you mind and go to the vault again and get me a heart please? Get one you like.”  
While saying that it came to Zelena that she had to find something that made it possible for her to thrust her hand into Killian’s chest. Without magic she couldn’t do that, but she knew there were ways to enchant her hand. So she looked for such potion as well.

Killian  
Killian was surprised that Zelena had found a cure for him that quickly. How easy it was to find! Even though he wasn't following what she said at first, when she explained and he did understand, a shadow of doubt crossed his expression. "But... love, I don't want to take someone else's heart to save myself." He shook his head. "It has an owner, as you said. I can't..." Years ago, he would have taken her up on the offer immediately. What should he care about faceless people somewhere in the realm? But now, he'd come too far to take what belonged to someone else. A heart had become too precious a commodity to him.

Meanwhile, the person that had been watching the pair as they approached the castle smiled darkly as the two discussed the heart and magic in the library. It was almost time. Two henchmen looked to their leader for a sign. When given the nod to proceed as planned, they grinned to one another and left.

A noise from without the library indicated someone was coming. Killian stepped to Zelena's side quickly as they had no time to flee. His hand went to the hilt of the sword. But the person who walked in was just an elderly woman with a kind face. "Oh! What the devil are ye doin' in here?" the woman yelled with a hand to her chest in startlement. "The ball is startin' in moments! Ye can't be late!" Her eyes narrowed at Killian and he felt as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

"Where's your jacket? You're only half dressed! And you missy," the woman said to Zelena with a reproachful glare. "No, no. This won't do. Come. We've got spare clothing for ill prepared guests." She would wave them to follow. "Must hurry! Her majesty will not be pleased for tardiness."

The woman nearly fled to a nearby room that was clearly owned by the castle seamstress. There were men's coats and women's gowns on either side of the room.


	6. Chapter 6

Zelena  
Zelena’s head came up when he told her he would not simply take another heart.  
“But… it’s the only way, Killian. We need a pure or light heart and add it to yours. Those hearts are here for years probably, no one misses them.”  
Zelena realized that she was talking about cold blooded murderer, and she could understand him. Normally she wouldn’t even suggest such an idea, but this was about Killian’s life! And she would do _everything_ to save him.  
She tried to find another solution for the problem, but right now she had none. She took the paper out of her bra and unfolded it. She wanted to read it again, maybe she had missed something, and indeed, she had.  
Zelena swallowed. A tiny word, the word ‘willingly’. She had overlooked it when Killian had distracted her for a moment.  
To cure the poisoned heart a pure heart must be given willingly; a life for a life.  
Zelena stared at the line. Willingly… if she simply took a heart from the vault it would not be given willingly. She was aware that Killian might watch her, and quickly put the paper away again.  
“You’re right, we can’t do that. I’m sorry for suggesting it. And I’m even more sorry that I raised hopes. But I won’t give up hope. There are other books, different magic. We just have to look.”

She had just made a decision. Robyn didn’t need her mother anymore, she had Alice from now on, and Killian deserved to spend time with his daughter. It was his time now. And she knew she couldn’t go on without the pirate in her life anymore. So she would give him her own heart. Willingly. Although her heart wasn’t pure, she assumed it would become pure during the process of giving it away. Making a sacrifice. Yes, this was the only way. And she had to make sure that Killian couldn’t refuse her gift.  
She just needed to find the right potion, only something that would freeze him in place or she could do it the non magical way and tied him up.

She had to think about this later, because she heard footsteps coming.  
“No,” she whispered, and while Killian stepped to her side, Zelena grabbed for the new sword but also for the vials on the table. She only hoped they were useful for them, and stuffed them into the pockets of her skirt. She could only save four vials before someone entered.

Perplexed about the old woman who was telling them they’d be late, she looked at Killian. He repeated the words slowly, and Zelena’s eyes widened.  
“The ball, yes… oh my god, how could we forget.” She had to play along. Maybe they could still escape as the woman didn’t think they were intruders. She also saw that Killian grabbed some more vials and stuck them into his pocket too.  
Then the woman told them to follow her, and both had no other choice than to follow her.

She hurried down the hallway, but luckily the room she headed to was nearby, and Zelena gasped when she saw all the ball gowns.  
“Are you sure we should do that,” she whispered to Killian while she eyes all the wonderful dresses. “I have never been on a ball.”  
The woman waved her over, and pointed towards a hanging rail with beautiful dresses.  
“Try one of these,” she said, and left Zelena alone with the difficult decision to choose between all the dresses.

Since she found all of them wonderful, she looked for one with a satchel or pockets. There was only one dress that fulfilled her needs, and Zelena thought it was just perfect.  
So she took it, went behind a curtain that served as partition wall. She slipped into the dress, and needed some time to get along with all the laces, but in the end she managed.  
When she looked into the mirror she gasped. The woman who looked back at her was quite beautiful.  
The curtain was opened a bit, and a younger maid entered. “Your hair, madame, you can’t go like this.”  
Zelena looked at her curled hair that looked quite unkempt after all those adventures.  
“Oh, you’re right, can you help me?” She asked.  
“That’s why I’m here. I also brought you shoes. Please sit down. While you try the shoes on, I tend to your hair.”  
“Thank you,” Zelena mumbled, and found halfway comfortable shoes that fit to her dress. She was curious how Killian would look like, and what he would think about her.

The maid only needed minutes to make her hair, and Zelena stared at her reflection.  
“You look beautiful, madame,” the maid said, and opened the curtain so Zelena could step out. The young woman had not only pinned up her hair, she had also some jewelry in her hair. Her green necklace she wore the whole time was a nice eye catcher.  
Zelena smiled, and slowly emerged behind the curtain.

Killian  
It didn’t take Killian much time to find a jacket that fit him. There were none tailored in leather, but that was alright. The one he chose was brown with a black lapel that stood up around his neck. It was comfortable and classic, he saw after he put on the white shirt beneath it. White. Now that was a color he hadn’t worn since his days in the Royal Navy. It had been two lifetimes ago at least.

He was looking at the fit in the mirror when the elderly busy body of a woman pulled at his sleeve to get the ruffles out. “Mercy, you can’t be wearin’ a hook ‘round her majesty. Haven’t ye got a spare hand?”

Killian frowned at her but couldn’t help but say, “Sorry, dearie. Lost it to a crocodile years ago.” He’d since made amends with the crocodile who had gone a touch mad, so it was no bother to him to talk about the subject.

Despite this, the woman pulled at his left arm sleeve too. “You’re in luck. We had a pirate years ago leave one behind.” She dug in a drawer and withdrew the stiff hand and worked a black glove down on it. “Here you are.” She gave it to Killian who unclicked the hook and stuck it into a pocket in the coat and clicked the gloved prosthetic into place.

There was an audible gasp from the woman and Killian’s eyes shot up as he expected trouble. When he followed her gaze, he saw what had caused the alarm. Not an alarm at all, but a siren. Zelena looked stunning, and Killian’s mouth opened as his eyes took in the vision before him. She wore a black gown with small diamonds sewn along the neckline and her hair was pulled back in an elegant twist. He realized he was being rude, so he shut his mouth and smiled slightly. “You look...” His eyebrows danced as his eyes roamed her figure to appreciate the entire vision of her. “Beautiful.”

Zelena  
When he saw her and his jaw dropped, Zelena was satisfied. She had hoped for such a reaction, and she also liked what she saw very much. Well, she always liked to look at Killian, she fancied his leather clothes. But this time he looked so elegant, for once not all in black and Zelena thought a bit of color looked great on him too.  
She beamed at him, and blushed when he complimented her.  
“Thank you, and you look just stunning.”  
She then saw his hook had been replaced by a gloved hand. She raised her eyebrows, and asked, “Where’s your hook?”  
So this was how he looked like with two hands. It was probably easier to dance with him now.

She walked over to him, and looked at the old lady. “Uhm, I’m afraid there’s just one problem.” Zelena looked at both before admitting “I don’t know how to dance. No one danced with me before, I mean… _really_ danced. I guess I can somehow move my feet but that’s it.”  
The elderly woman looked at Zelena and pursed her lips while making a disapproving noise.  
“You are late already, I think a lady of your age should know how to dance!”  
Zelena blushed. “No one ever taught me,” she tried to defend herself.  
“Well, it’s too late to practice now.” The other woman said and looked at Killian. “You have to teach her quickly. I hope at least you know how to dance?”

She gestured them to follow, and led them upstairs. “Follow that hallway to the end, then turn left. On the right is the large door that lead to the ballroom. Now go!”  
She shooed them in the direction she had pointed at, and went back again, leaving them alone.  
“I still can’t dance,” Zelena objected, but the woman was gone. She gave Killian a look seeking for help.  
“I apologize already for stepping on your feet,” she said and sighed.

Killian  
Killian patted his front jacket pocket when Zelena asked where his hook was. He smiled in amusement at the way she looked back at him too. This should be fun, he told himself, enjoying the moment.

“Aye, that I will,” he assured the tailor at her insistence that he would have to instruct Zelena.

As they were hurried out of the tailor’s room, Killian stuck his elbow out toward Zelena to take and leaned his head toward her to speak sotto voce. “This adventure is getting better by the moment. You see, it’s not always a bad thing to be caught where one doesn’t belong.” He smirked as he side eyed Zelena and caught another glance of how entrancing she looked. “As for dancing,” Killian drawled with some pride in his tone. “All you need is a partner who knows what he’s doing.” In this case, Killian did. “As a young Lieutenant, I danced with the ladies in a more formal fashion. After I became a pirate,” he shrugged, “dancing was mostly for fun.” He gave her a bit of a devilish grin recalling the jigs he and his partners danced to.

They walked into a ballroom where ladies and gentlemen, princesses and princes were paired and awaiting instruction. Killian stopped in the entry way as he looked around at all the splendor. And up on the dais was who he presumed to be the Queen of Diamonds. Her gown was most likely made from thousands of tiny, encrusted diamonds as it sparkled in the light. He was a bit in awe of the room.

He began to lead Zelena toward the back, far from the sights of the monarch. But the music began, full instrumental harmony filling the room, and the pair was pushed into the center of the dance floor. Killian raised an eyebrow and shrugged at Zelena. “May I have this dance?” Upon recognizing the song and how the other men began by kneeling before their partner, Killian did so as well, holding up one hand to await Zelena’s permission.

Zelena  
The excitement in his words, when he said this adventure was getting better by the moment made her smile. Thinking about the half dead pirate a few days ago and seeing him now… Zelena was more than happy they had come here. She was still not sure how this dancing thing should work. She did trust that Killian had great expertise, she just doubted that she would get it. She had no idea how he would manage to teach her to dance while dancing! Well, she simply had to trust him, and she did that.  
Hearing him talking about all the ladies he had danced with, Zelena even felt a bit jealous. But she had just seen how he had looked at her, and this gave her confidence.  
“Well, I’ll do my best,” she promised.

Zelena couldn’t hold back an ‘oh’ when they entered the ballroom. All of the guests were wearing such beautiful dresses, and had precious jewelry. Killian had stopped, and Zelena was suddenly not sure if she was properly dressed. She felt the urge to leave again, hide somewhere, but it was too late for that. Then she spotted the Queen of Diamonds, and knew immediately why was was named like this. She actually was covered by diamonds, and Zelena’s jaw dropped.  
“Oh!” she breathed, and felt Killian pulling her away. She focused on the pirate and the other people again, and whispered to him.  
“I don’t think I’m properly dressed, look at all the gowns! I feel like the black sheep in a flock of white sheep.”  
She was not sure if Killian had heard her because right in the moment she said that the music began to play.  
People were pushing them to the center, and Zelena became quite nervous.  
And then Killian asked her for this dance. Zelena felt her heart beat faster, and she felt such warmth washing through her, when he kneeled down before her.  
She felt the heat rising in her cheeks, and a bright smile formed appeared on her lips.  
She put her hand in Killian’s and nodded visibly touched.  
“It would be my pleasure.” Her eyes were locked on his, and she felt like a princess in that moment. Maybe she was properly dressed, in any case she had the best man at her side.

Killian  
Zelena took his hand and he stood in sync with the other gentlemen but his eyes remained on Zelena’s. He would modify the dance just so that he could show Zelena that she could do this. When he pulled her snug against him, his thigh slightly between hers and his arm secured around her lower back, his hand holding her to him by her waist, she wouldn’t have to worry about not knowing what to do. With his mouth close to her ear as they turned, he said, “If you hadn’t noticed, I prefer the black sheep.” He pulled his head back just enough so he could grin at her, his left arm raising as he parted from Zelena so she could walk under his arm as everyone else was doing, but when she would come back to him, he would modify the dance again. “I wouldn’t say sheep either, love. You outshine any of these people.”

As they danced, moving along in the same direction of the others, Killian kept his eyes on his partner. He’d been in awe of her when she fought the cat and when she came back to his small quarters over the bar. Again, years prior when the two of them worked together and Zelena and Robyn defeated Gothel.

He could feel a tightness in his chest of happiness with Zelena that he hadn’t noticed until now. Something had changed between them and he wasn’t sure if it had just happened at the present moment or if it had been there all these years.

The song ended, and Killian slowed to a stop, reluctantly stepping back so he could bow at the close of the first song, but he never moved his eyes from Zelena’s.

Zelena  
Killian raised, and lines up with the other men. Zelena briefly looked to her left and right to find out what she should do, but Killian pulled her against him, and she suddenly found herself in the correct dancing position although she hadn’t made anything. It was his doing.  
She beamed at him, and felt relieved. She could do this because he knew what to do.

It worked better than she had even dreamed of. She followed his lead, and felt like she had danced with him before. He also flattered her with telling her he would prefer the black sheep. So he had heard her.  
She loved the way he grinned at her, it was full of joy and happiness, something she had missed for a long time to see him do. And she had it back. She felt a warmth in her heart, and she had a hard time not to simply kiss him right away. It helped that Killian raised his arm, indicating she had to walk under it. Zelena laughed as this was so much fun.  
Eventually she landed in his arms again, and Killian flattered her again.  
“Oh, stop flattering me,” she said, but she just did because she was so charming and complimented her. The other reason was that she feared she would lose control and could do something in the heat of passion like kissing him.  
God, he was so close, his smile was so beautiful, and his words so sweet. And she loved dancing with him. He was not only a Captain on his ship, but also on this dancing floor.

He made her heart beat faster, and she was lost in his eyes. There was no one else anymore in her world right now than Killian, and Zelena felt pure happiness. She didn’t even think about her plan to give him her heart, she just enjoyed this perfect moment.

She was almost shocked when Killian stopped, and only then realized that the music had stopped. She saw him bow, and made a curtsey, still looking at him.  
“Aww, Killian, that was so amazing,” she whispered, as she didn’t want to draw any attention from others. “Can we do this again? You’re such a good teacher, I didn’t even think what I had to do, I just followed you.”  
Maybe it was the heat of the moment now, but Zelena bent forward, and placed a long kiss on his cheek.  
After she backed away she was still beaming at him. “Thank you! Just… thank you. This was one of the most wonderful moments in my life. And only thanks to you.”

Something was happening. It became quiet in the room. Too quiet. Zelena felt how her hackles got up, and turned around.  
The Queen of Diamonds glared at her, and four of her guards were hurrying toward her.  
Zelena’s eyes widened in shock, and she before she could even think of running two guards grabbed her by her arms, the other two took Killian into custody.

  
“Wait, what are you doing! What is happening?” Zelena cried out, but she and Killian were dragged to the Queen.  
The other guests were looking at them in shock, and no one dared to say anything.  
Zelena was forced to drop to her knees and the Queen said “Kissing in public, especially in my presence is a deadly sin. You and your subject of desire are under sentence of death. You will die tomorrow. Get them out!”

Zelena was completely shocked. “Wait, what? I-I didn’t kiss him! Please! I didn’t know… it was not a kiss!” She tried to get free, but she had no chance against two guards who were twisting her arms on her back.  
She looked at Killian in panic. “Killian! Killian!”

Killian  
Killian blushed at Zelena's praise and gratitude. Her joy was contagious as he felt just as happy. She kissed his cheek and he chuckled as he reached for her elbow to draw her nearer. "I imagine there will be more dancing. I'll dance every one with you..." He stopped talking when he noticed the sudden quiet and the guards rushing at them. Killian reached for his sword, but his fingers never touched it as his arms were grabbed so quickly and pulled back.

A death sentence for kissing in public?! If a peck on a cheek was unlawful, they really would have had a tizzy over what he could have done had he lower morals. He was likely the only pirate or outlaw in the room and he could think of a number of things that would make these dandies faint over their champagne flutes!

Baring his teeth as they pulled him and Zelena out of the room of gawkers, Killian yanked his shoulder forward but the guard had a tight hold on him. He continued looking Zelena's way as she was growing hysterical, but other than escorting them roughly down a corridor, they didn't appear to be hurting her.


	7. Chapter 7

Killian  
There was a low guffaw from the one pushing Killian forward. It didn't sound quite right. "What is the meaning of this?" Killian demanded once they were down a flight of stone steps and in what appeared to be a large cavernous room. He could hear the echo of something distant. It sounded like water if his ear was trained right.

His sword belt was confiscated and set on a peg on the wall. He was pushed in a barred cell and the door swung shut with an echoing bang. Zelena was pushed into one opposite him.

"You caught the eye of the boss," one of them said with a nasty sneer. "You've been watched since you arrived in Wonderland. The Queenie was too easy to manipulate into arresting you so we could take you." The guards snickered between themselves.

"What is this place?" Killian demanded.

"The Cave of Three Truths." His black, beady eyes moved to Killian's feet and the guard giggled again before scurrying off with his fellow guard.

Killian slammed his shoulder into the door, but it didn't budge. He looked Zelena's way, desperation in his eyes, as he stuck his arm through the bars to see if he could reach her, but they each would be a scant inch or two too far away. "I'm sorry, Love. We'll find a way out of this."

Zelena  
Killian’s voice right behind her told her at least that he was still there, although she couldn’t see him. Her arms were twisted up her back, so she had to bend forward to ease the pain.  
This couldn’t be true, could it? She had just given him a peck on the cheek, nothing more! And now they should die?  
She was led down into some kind of cave, and Zelena found herself in a barred cell. The door was closed, and she carefully brought her arms into a normal position. Killian was opposite to her in another cell and once the door of his cell was locked too, one guard told him that they had been watched the whole time.  
So it had been a set up?

“The Cave of Three Truths?” Zelena wondered what that would mean, but she was ignored, and remained silent and let Killian do the talk.  
Unfortunately the two men didn’t give anymore information, and left them alone.

Zelena saw Killian trying to get out, and tried to reach his fingers when he stuck his arm through the bars to reach her. But she couldn’t.  
She was as desperate as he looked, and it was her fault.  
“No, you don’t have to be sorry, I have! It’s my fault that we’re here, it’s only my fault!”  
Zelena felt terrible. Didn’t she come here to save him? Instead she had made things worse and signed both of their death warrants. Because she had been impulsive and allowed her feelings to surface.  
She was so desperate and scared, that she felt tears rising.  
“I never wanted this to happen, Killian. I wanted to save you, but instead I made things worse.”  
She began to shiver. She was still wearing this beautiful dress, but it was cold in the cave, and it was an off-the-shoulder dress. 

She took some deep breaths, and told herself to calm down again. Crying wouldn’t help, and both were still alive. So she better tried to think of something.  
“What is the Cave of Three Truths,” she eventually asked, when she had regained at least some of her composure. She would surely not give up, and Killian had said they would find a way out of this. Since he was the only one who had been in Wonderland before, maybe his knowledge could be helpful.

Killian  
Killian saw how Zelena shivered and he frowned, disheartened that their evening of dancing had come to such a dreaded conclusion. She had been so happy and exuberant, and now she was wearing a gown made for dancing in a brig.

Three Truths? He pondered over it and shrugged. "I encountered a demon once that played games like this. He would watch how people played. If there was cheating afoot, he'd... kill them. For fun." He glared around the room for something they could use to get the door open and he had an idea. "I wonder..." He fished the hook from his pocket and attempted to poke a catch in the locking mechanism of the door, but it was a waste of time. Disheartened, at that, he leaned a shoulder into the bars as he wracked his brain for anything else that could be done.

"The nature of these games is usually something the players must figure out. The rules, how to play. Three truths..." He shrugged. "I suppose we speak three truths and see what happens." He wet his lips as he prepared. "The cave is dark." Nothing happened. Too obvious, perhaps. "We've been ambushed by a coward." Still nothing. He carefully scratched at the side of his head with the hook as he held it in his right hand. "You look lovely, Zelena." He grinned at her with that last one. But still nothing changed. "Damn."

She looked rather chilly, so he shrugged off the evening coat. "Zelena, take my coat, love. I don't need it and I wager it would give you some warmth." He was very warm, in fact, fueled by his irritation at being so mistreated at such a ridiculous reason. He set the collar of the coat on the hook and extended his right arm through the bars to offer it to Zelena. "Maintain hope. We'll get out of here." His eyes implored her to believe him.

He didn’t notice, as he took a step when it happened, but his floor shifted downward by one inch after he failed to speak the correct sort of truth.

Zelena  
“A game? How can anyone think this would be a game,” Zelena pondered more to herself, since she didn’t want to interrupt Killian’s thought. The idea he had about this was actually simple, logical, but also cruel. Why else would the cave have been named ‘Three Truths’?

“I think chances are good that I really begin to dislike Wonderland,” she said, and although they were in mortal danger, he managed to make her smile by saying was looking lovely.  
“Perhaps not lovely enough for being the truth,” she suggested, and found that joking a bit about this was helping to lighten up her mood.  
She was rubbing over her arms to get them warmer, and thought about a truth she could speak. In the meantime Killian offered her his coat, and although Zelena feared he would get cold too after a while, she realized that she indeed needed it more than he at the moment.  
“Thank you,” she said, and managed to grab it when he let it swing a bit.

Once she put it on she felt better, and could focus on their task again to get out of here.  
Killian had just tried to give her hope, but in the same moment he was… _shrinking_.  
“Killian!” Zelena cried out, and she clasped her hands around the bars.  
“What the hell just happened?” Since she couldn’t see the floor in his cell in the darkness, she didn’t know why he was suddenly an inch shorter. In the same moment she realized that is had to do something with that cave and the crazy game.  
Without thinking she said “If I ever find out who’s behind all this I’m going to rip his heart out and crush it!” It was an old habit of the Wicked Witch that she had threatened people who were her enemies by ripping out his heart. Only in this case she had no magic anymore so her lightly said remark caused the floor in Killian’s cell to shift downward by two inches this time.  
“No!” Zelena stretched out her arm in reflex to grab him, but of course she couldn’t reach him.  
“Sorry, I didn’t think,” she admitted, and since she had said something again she looked around, but this time nothing happened.

She had to think. There was of course one truth she knew it would work, but she couldn’t say that. Not yet, not if something else might work.  
Was there something she had to confess? Maybe…  
Zelena swallowed, and decided to give it a try.

“I lied to you about Robyn and Alice. I pretended not to care that she didn’t tell me, but the truth is - I did care! I asked myself why she wouldn’t trust me, why did she go to you first, why did she never even _mention_ Alice to me before, especially not being her love interest? It hurt so much, it still does! My daughter doesn’t seem to trust me, or she thinks I’m not worth to be told about her life. It’s one of the worst pain I ever felt.”  
She did feel all the emotions again she had felt that day when Killian had unwittingly told her about the plans of her own daughter to marry Killian’s daughter, and Zelena was close to tears. Although they had talked later, it was a pain Zelena felt more intense than any other.  
She wiped briefly over her eyes. If that wasn’t a truth worth being told she didn’t know what else to say. She looked around, and waited if something would happen.

Killian  
When Zelena suddenly shrieked his name, Killian swung around in thinking someone had approached behind him outside of his cage, but there was nothing but the darkness of the cave. He turned back to face her, his eyes wild in startlement. "What is it?" And then she declared her own revenge on whoever the 'boss' was that was playing with them and Killian grinned despite their situation. Not that he'd like to see her crush someone's heart, but she had fire in her and he liked that.

His floor began to shift and he looked down, puzzled and Zelena yelled again. Now he realized what was happening. Where would the sinking floor take him? He had an idea of where by the sound of the rushing water somewhere. Did it drop into a Wonderland sea? "Bloody hell," he mumbled. "It's not your fault, love." His floor shifted again and he shut his mouth realizing what was causing it. "Three bloody truths."

Zelena began to speak and he kept his eyes on her the whole time she spoke, taking in every detail of her expression, the pain in her eyes and the love she had for her daughter emanating from every word. "Of course you care," he said quietly when she finished speaking. He understood. And he regretted causing her that pain. He should have waited until Robyn had the time to share the news with her mother, but that was in the past. His floor didn't shift that time so perhaps this was the route to take.

A ding sounded throughout the cavernous area and Killian looked around for it. Odd.

He cleared his throat. She mentioned ripping a heart and Killian looked down at the unattached hook he was still gripping in his right hand. "I didn't tell you the full truth earlier. About why I was in Wonderland originally." His eyes flicked up to look at Zelena. "Your sister hired me to come here. Well..." He thought on the different versions of himself and Regina and corrected himself. "Not your sister that's in the Enchanted Forest now, but the previous Evil Queen. I worked for her for a time with the promise of getting my revenge as payment. She enchanted my hook." He held it up so that a trace of light gleamed in the steel. "I was to find your mother and remove her heart with this. The enchantment allowed for one... ripping." He wasn't sure what they called it. "I was here to kill her and I would have done it. Your mother's a clever woman. She didn't keep her heart where it belonged, else I would have had it. She thrust her hand into my chest and squeezed, showing me how to do it properly." He smirked without humor and waited. The floor didn't shift but that pleasant noise sounded again. Was it a bell? In the eerie atmosphere, it wasn’t quite so pleasant and gave Killian concern but perhaps it affirmed that he spoke one of the truths required.  
Sighing, Killian stood from where he was leaning against the bar. "I suppose that's how the game is played then?"

Zelena  
When the ding sounded after she had confessed about Robyn she looked around, like Killian did, but thought nothing of it yet.  
At least this time the floor under Killian’s feet didn’t move this time.  
“I think… it’s your turn now,” she said, but he was obviously just about to confess something.

Zelena listened to him, and the only issue that really bothered her was the fact that he had worked for Regina before. She didn’t even think her sister was interested in him in the same way she was, but it bothered her that Regina knew him longer than she did, and that there was a connection between them.  
He mentioned his enchanted hook to rip out a heart, and Zelena remembered that the other Killian had tried once to rip her heart out whereby he had told her about the enchantment.  
Actually, it was perfect that he reminded her of it, and that the enchantment was obviously still there.  
She would just have to use his hook to rip out her own heart. Once they got out here of course.

She felt pity for him when he told her how her mother had squeezed his heart. She knew she had caused him immense pain by doing so.  
Another ding sounded, and this time Zelena thought that wasn’t a coincidence.  
“I guess the sound of that mysterious bell tells us if our secret was worth being counted. I’m sorry for what my family did to you, Killian, and I understand why you held it back.”

She looked down at her feet or more… the seam of her beautiful dress, and tried to find something that would help them.  
There was something else, but Zelena didn’t know if it was enough.  
Her head came up again, and she looked at Killian.  
“Guess it’s my turn again,” she said.  
“It’s actually quite obvious, but I haven’t told anyone yet because I thought they think poorly of me. They probably will.”  
She sighed, and began.  
“When I gave up my magic, I thought I did it because it was the right thing to do. Be a hero, save all of you… but the truth is, I just did it because Regina is my only family, and I had no other choice. It just wasn’t enough I think. So when I lost my magic suddenly everyone was nicer to me. Not because I did what I did, but without magic I was just a useless, not dangerous ex witch. A common person and easy to shove away.”  
She laughed without humor. “I honestly thought she would trust me when she taught me how to drive, and said I should take Henry if things get worse and leave town with him. I… thanked her that she trusted me with Henry, but the truth was that she didn’t think I would be able to look after him.”

She paused, and looked away as the memory was painful. “I was just the driver. She told me that she trusted _Henry_ to look after me. Can you imagine how embarrassing that is?”  
Regina never needed me, and she will never need me. She can do everything alone. I’m just… waste. And I regret so deeply that I have given up my magic for… _nothing_. No one even thanked me. It’s like… everything bad I did in my life is never forgotten. Everything bad Regina did… ha! She’s a hero now, and she killed so many people. No one sees how much I have changed, I can try and try, but… I’ll always be the Wicked Witch. And without my magic - I’m nothing.”

Zelena paused, and took a deep breath, trying to control her emotions.  
Another ding told her that this confession was at least enough to count.  
She better should find a more pleasant third secret. Going through all the emotions again didn’t do her any good.

Killian  
Killian nodded as Zelena spoke, some of her confession in the form of a question, but rhetorical. There was nothing he could say without risking the floor shifting again, so he listened, his eyes remaining on Zelena.

He wasn't sure what she meant by driving. A carriage? He would have thought Zelena could do that without instruction. It must have been terribly humiliating for her.

The bell sounded and Killian exhaled; the tension that was building in him didn't lessen. His turn again.

"You are not nothing, Zelena. Being in Wonderland with you has opened my eyes. You're strong, courageous, caring. And I'd have you at my side as my second in any duel whether it be against beast or..." He waved at their surroundings. "In games." He smiled, hoping Zelena could understand that he was sincere in this. "I don't believe this is the end for us, in this cave; but if it is, I'm glad its with you." It's what he had realized when he watched Zelena fight against the giant cat, but he hadn't been sure if telling her so before would have been okay to do. Even now, under duress, he hoped he hadn't made things worse by saying so, but he already knew what his third confession would be.

Zelena  
It were Killian’s next words, his second ‘truth’ that made her feel so much better. Maybe she would have thought he just wanted to comfort her, but not here in this cave, not in this situation. If his words were just well meant, but he would not really mean them, the floor under him would have moved. But it didn’t.  
Zelena was completely focused on him and his words, she looked in his eyes and felt her love for him raising again when he made the second truth about her. That he thought more of her than everyone else, and he trusted her.

When he was finished the bell sounded for the fourth time, and Zelena smiled. She grabbed the bars again, and gave him a grateful and loving smile. He would see in her eyes that she was really touched by his words, and stretched out her arm for him.  
She didn’t have to think about her next words, and she didn’t have to be scared they would make the floor move again.  
“There’s no place I like to be rather than here with you, no matter what will happen to us. And… “ she swallowed, but she had made her decision. Maybe this was the best place and best time for her to admit it, maybe those would be her last words, and he deserved to hear them.  
She cleared her throat, withdrew her hand again.

“So here’s my last confession.” Her eyes locked onto his, and she was nervous. But she wouldn’t look away, not a single second, and continued.  
“I did come back the other day not only because I promised, but because I wanted to. Killian, I wasn’t honest with you in all those years I’m afraid, but... I don’t like you.”  
She paused, and took a deep breath before she spoke the words that she thought she never would say to him. “I love you. I always have, all those years. And when I saw you there, I...I couldn’t believe it. And my feelings are still the same. I would do everything for you. You and Robyn are the most important persons in my life. I love my daughter like a mother can only love her daugher, but you - I love you with all my heart. And I know I am not supposed to tell you any of this, but… it’s the truth.”

The bell dinged the fifth time, and Zelena’s heart was racing. She had no idea if she had just ruined everything, but he had said he would like to have her by his side at any duel. Maybe he could just forget her words, and continue like they always had. This was at least the best she could hope for. 

Killian  
As Zelena spoke, he saw her stretch her arm through the bars toward him and all he could do was extend his right arm again as he held out the hook. Best to give her something to touch since he couldn’t reach her otherwise.

He watched her face as she spoke. When she said she didn’t like him, she caught him off guard. He tilted his head as if he hadn’t heard her right, a slightly amused yet puzzled expression crossing his face. And then he understood. She loved him. He felt his heart race, just briefly. Each breath he took felt like he was winded. All from one admittance. He continued listening as she spoke, never taking his eyes off hers. When the bell rang signaling the fifth truth spoken, Killian inhaled deeply and raised his eyebrows. That one was quite a truth for her to admit. He could recall how she had yelled at him and called him Nook for the first time yet they had worked so well together as a team despite Gothel nearly electrocuting him with her magic to stop him from interfering. And Zelena nearly dying as she was willing to sacrifice herself for her daughter. He could remember it like it was just yesterday. And then seeing her the previous day again after too many years was like sunlight to eyes accustomed to darkened skies.

Slowly, Killian exhaled. His eyes glanced down at the floor as he began to speak. “Well,” he drawled as if accepting fate that something would certainly change after speaking the sixth truth between them. The doors would open, his floor would fall, or someone would come and kill them. Or perhaps something would change between he and Zelena. It already had.

“You’ve just made my last confession rather easy.” He shrugged, figuring what the hell, and began to remove the false hand from his brace so he could twist the hook back into place. As he did this, he looked up at Zelena. His heart was hammering in his chest but he smiled regardless. “I love you, too.”

The bell rang and Killian looked up sharply as a clanging noise of shifting gears sounded. The doors of both cages swung open and Killian darted out before they could close again. He ran to Zelena, enveloping her in his arms as the clanging continued to sound. Grinning at her despite his growing anxiety over the noise and anticipating something to happen, he took a leap of bravery and cupped Zelena’s cheek and kissed her, pouring his relief into finally being able to do that into the kiss. When they would part, he said, “I’ve been wanting to kiss you since I saw you defeat the cat, again when you parried with my sword,” his eyebrow raised and he smirked at that, “again seeing you in this gown...” He kissed her again. “Dancing with you. I love you, Zelena.”

The clanging suddenly stopped and it almost seemed deafeningly silent. Killian’s embrace on Zelena tightened. He would need to get his sword from the peg on the wall. Someone or something was coming.

Zelena  
The sound of the bell had faded away and Killian didn’t say anything. Zelena was tensed up, and almost forgot how to breathe. She saw him inhaling deeply and raising his eyebrow, that wasn’t a good sign, was it?  
When he exhaled and looked down Zelena kept her breath. His “well”, at least one word at all, sounded too negative.  
She swallowed, and he continued talking.  
Zelena didn’t feel good, but she had to listen, she had to know.  
So when he eventually - and after an eternity he spent to attach his hook again- simply admitted that he loved her too, she couldn’t believe it. 

But the bell dinged, and when their eyes met for a moment, before the doors swung open, Zelena knew she had understood correctly.  
She almost didn’t realize that the door opened, but when she did she quickly stepped out, and right into Killian’s arms.  
Words weren’t necessary anymore when he kissed her; finally.  
Zelena wrapped her arms around his neck, and returned the kiss with all her heart. Maybe it was crazy to think she would love him, after all they hadn’t seen each other in years, but every time when she had thought of him she felt how much she missed him, and sometimes dreamed of him. And all her feelings overwhelmed her when they eventually met again. Had it been only two days now?  
And now… both had confessed. She thought this was one of her happiest moments in her life, and forgotten was the Queen or Wonderland and its dangers.

When they parted she had the pleasure to hear about some occasions when Killian had wanted to kiss her, and if he wouldn’t have kissed her a second time, she had. 

“Do you remember when Robyn told me to leave after we found her with Gothel? I was so upset and sad, but you… you restored my confidence in myself, my love and my daughter. I found out later when I thought about everything, but I still can hear every single word you said to me and how you said it. And I knew this was the moment when you won my heart. I have never known someone who feels so deeply and knows so much about love like you.”

She stroked over his cheek, and smiled. “It was always you. You have no idea how often I remembered your words when I felt lonely or thought I messed up with Robyn again, but I knew as long as I show her how much I love her, everything would be fine again.”  
This time she kissed him to show him how much she loved him, and said when they broke the kiss “And I definitely like to dance with you again. And learn how to sword fight. Talking about that…” she looked around as she knew too that someone or something was coming, “If there’s a second sword - I’ll take it.”  
She let go of him as this wasn’t the time to hug each other anymore - it was the time to get to the weapons. Well, in Zelena’s case - find a weapon.


	8. Chapter 8

Killian  
Zelena's heartfelt words were still resonating within Killian as well as the kiss on his lips and he had a feeling that he should touch them just to be sure it had actually happened. He was amazed, and alert, and ready to fight whoever was still taunting them. Zelena had boosted him from a deathbed to a healthy male in just days. He was certain he could take on all of the queen's guards in that moment with Zelena fighting alongside him. He grinned at her and told her to take his sword. He had a hook at least and he wouldn't have her defenseless.

The door at the top of a staircase set in the cave wall opened slowly with an echoing creak and there stood a figure at the top that seemed impossibly tall. The two goons from earlier ran in as well around this person and jogged down the stairs, rapidly approaching. Killian took a step back, his eyes quickly moving to Zelena, before he raised his hook.

The figure on the top of the stairs stepped forward so that a beam of light passed over its face to reveal sinister eyes, long crooked teeth, and a tophat made of bloodied, severed rabbits' ears. "Oh, bloody hell," Killian muttered under his breath, realizing from stories, who their captor was. "Run, Zelena."

The sound of rushing water still echoed in the cave and perhaps if they ran towards it, there would be a way out.

Zelena  
Killian was better with a sword, no doubt, but Zelena understood two armed and determined to fight for their lives beings were better than one.  
So she took the sword, and got in position for whatever would come down those steps.  
Her hands were sweating, was that normal? Maybe it was because she didn’t know what they would have to deal with.  
She could see the guards who had brought them here, and Zelena grinned. At least she could try to pay them back. Sword at the ready she focused on the right one, the one who had shoved her into the cell.

She was distracted by something large appearing at the top of the staircase. Surprised about seeing a large _hare_ she lowered her sword, and stared at it. Taking a closer look she realized that it was not actually a hare but a tall man with a rabbit ears hat.  
In the same moment Killian’s “bloody hell” told her that this man / hare was probably dangerous. Very dangerous, because in the next second he told her to run!  
Run, where? Zelena didn’t hesitate and followed Killian. He was heading in the only possible direction they could go, the direction where she could hear rushing water.  
The sword in her right hand, still ready to use it if necessary, she used her left hand to gather her dress so she wouldn’t fall.  
She just hoped they wouldn’t have to swim. Not that she couldn’t swim, but it was probably difficult in that gown she was wearing; and Killian’s coat he had given her for the cold.

Zelena didn’t even dare to look behind her as she was busy not to stumble. In some distance she could see water. A lot of water and no way out.  
Fortune had left them as it seemed plus the hare-man and the guards were coming closer.  
There was only one way to escape and it would very likely kill them.  
“Killian…,” Zelena began, and swallowed. “What are we doing now?” The water looked deep, and all Zelena could see was the cave. She was not sure if she could hold her breath long enough.

Killian  
Killian felt as if he and Zelena were being watched by a hungry predator once again. But this time it was worse than the giant cat. Everything in him told him to get away immediately, but with Zelena impeded by her gown, and with only water ahead and no sign of where the water led to outside the confines of the cave, Killian was growing nervous.

He would stay and fight if it was just himself, but with Zelena, the March Hare was far too dangerous to attempt to fight with. He wouldn't risk her safety. They had to flee.

"We're going to have to swim, love, I'm sorry." Thinking fast, he searched for anything else they could use to their advantage when his eyes caught sight of something on the cave floor by the water. A conch shell? He picked it up and wasted no time in blowing into it. A sound echoed all around them before he turned to see the March Hare and his goons fast approaching. He took the shell and hurled it at the Hare, but it merely knocked his bloodied rabbit ears hat off.

The madman felt over his head for the hat and his bloodshot eyes flew wide with fury. "You don't play the game right. You were meant to admit truths of a different nature. Not about... love, of all things." He spat in the dirt as he approached. "Admit embarrassing or hurtful truths. That's how you play the game."

"We won anyway," Killian said, as he reached for Zelena's arm and took a step backwards, closer to the water's edge.

"Did you win though?" The Hare bared his teeth and Killian was almost sure they were filed to points. "You've no where to go from here. We're going to have a nice tea and admit all the naughty truths you're still hiding. GET THEM!" The Hare barked the order to his chuckling goons as they lurched forward.

Killian lashed out with the hook and managed to strike one before he took another step backwards to finally submerge into the water. The water was dark and freezing as it seeped through his thin shirt and trousers, and he almost exhaled precious breath but he tried to keep a grip on Zelena so he wouldn't lose her. The current was swift and was pulling them immediately but Killian didn't fight it. They had to get out and the only way out was the direction the water would pull them. He only hoped the call he'd made with the shell was heard.

Zelena  
When Killian confirmed that they had to swim Zelena was seriously concerned. However, there was no other way, unless they would fight. She lifted her sword, and pondered over their chances against three enemies. Maybe two as the man with the strange rabbit ears on his hat didn’t look like he would fight back. Or would he be able to do worse things?  
Zelena remembered that Killian had decided to retreat than to fight…  
_Okay, maybe a fight isn’t going to work,_ she thought. _And Killian would rather swim…_

She saw Killian picking up a shell, and blew into it. The sound that came out was filling the cave, but Zelena had no idea why he did that.  
“Killian, I don’t think it’s time to collect shells, although this is a nice one.”  
Then he threw it toward the hare and for a moment Zelena hoped it would be some kind of magical shell, activated by blowing into it, and it would freeze the man or whatever. But it just knocked his hat off his head.

The March Hare seemed quite displeased about the missing hat, and began to talk about that they hadn’t played the game right. Zelena narrowed her eyebrows, and felt Killian grabbing her arm, and pull her back, closer to the water.  
“Maybe we don’t have embarrassing or hurtful truths to share,” she snapped at the man. “And you’re the last hare… man… whatever with whom I’d like to have tea with!”  
In the next moment his two guards got the order to get them, and in the same moment Killian lashed out with his hook, she moved her sword and stabbed the other man’s stomach.  
She managed to make a noise of satisfaction before Killian pulled her backwards.  
Zelena remembered only seconds before she was pulled underwater that it was probably a good idea to take a deep breath. It was just too bad that there wasn’t enough time.  
She gasped for breath, and lost some oxygen again when she felt the ice cold water shocking her body.

Her dress and the jacket pulled her down, as well as the strong current, and she knew she would drown within one minute at most. Her lungs were already screaming for oxygen, and then she felt Killian’s hand on her arm again. He was pulling her with him! Deeper!  
She almost panicked, but then she realized what he was going to do - they had to use the current to get out. Hopefully. Zelena closed her hands around his wrist, and tried to stay calm. She knew she could manage to hold her breath (the last bit) for a few seconds more. She had to. Killian had saved her from choking after she fell into the hole with quicksand, and the last Zelena wanted was that he had to save her again after drowning!

Eager to make it out of here alive she fought the growing panic in her, and hoped for a miracle.

Ariel  
There was a call specifically tuned for the ears of the sirens of the sea. No matter the originating realm, it could be heard. So when a certain pitch from a shell echoed through the waters, Ariel heard it. There was only one person that made that specific sound with a conch shell and she knew it was her friend calling.

Ariel had been in Neverland, but held up her hand to silence the other chatty mermaids that she had been keeping company with. Her eyes flew wide at the message meant for her.

"Who's that? Sounds like a familiar pirate," one of the others said, not noticing Ariel attempting to silence all the chatter.

"It is!" Ariel snapped uncharacteristically. There was panic in her tone. She had to hurry. "Gotta go! Don't wait up." She dove under the crystal waters and a flash under water would signal that she had opened the portal and was gone.

"Such a busy body," the same snarky mermaid remarked to the others. They all nodded in agreement. "Doesn't she know that pirate doesn't care for fins? We've all tried."

The portal opened in an unfamiliar realm to Ariel. The water smelled different... like confusion. Some things weren't right here. There was a certain texture to the water that even felt a bit marshmallow-like. But she couldn't focus on the difference to decide where she was just yet. The call had come from one direction while she felt the caller had separated from the shell. Why had he done that? That would only make finding him harder.

Embarrassingly enough, she would have to get help. Ariel preferred being among humans than fish so asking them if any had seen a pirate only provoked bug-eyed responses from the fish. And her family had wondered why she had always dreamed of living amongst two legged individuals.

Swimming hastily, and trying to avoid the weird taste in the water, she saw something dart past and going in a downward direction towards the bottom of the strange sea. Two somethings, in fact! Ariel rocketed herself faster to notice two bodies. One had hair similar to Ariel's but the gown was far too inappropriate for being in the water. Silly humans.

Once she reached them, she looked closely at their faces. Yes, one was definitely Killian and the other, Ariel wasn't sure of. There was no time to waste as she wasn't sure how long they had been submerged. Killian wasn't moving, nor were any bubbles coming from his mouth. The woman was in a similar predicament but it seemed she was looking at Ariel. Ariel ducked her head and smiled at the woman in reassurance and pointed to the surface to let her know what she was going to do. She would wrap an arm around each of them at the ribcages and propelled them up towards the surface.

Zelena  
The current drew them away fast, and suddenly Zelena realized that Killian was about to loosen his grip. Her eyes flew open so she could look at him, and her heart, that already had a difficult time to work at all in the cold and without oxygen, seemed to stop for a moment.  
He became weak, his eyelids dropped, and Zelena could see a few bubbles leaving his mouth.  
In the last moment she remembered not to cry out, and tightened her grip around his wrist.

She felt the ride coming to an end, as they reached open waters. Zelena looked up, and saw light; the surface. And she knew it was too far to swim up.  
Her own oxygen was now completely depleted, and all she could do was to wrap her arms around Killian so she wouldn’t lose him. 

She felt the darkness reaching out for her too, and she couldn’t suppress her reflex to gasp for air.  
Right in the moment when she opened her mouth to inhale the water she had a vision.  
A face framed by flame red hair appeared, and she felt an arm around her chest while the surface came closer.  
Zelena fell into darkness, but there was still life in her. So when they broke the surface, her lungs expanded, she took a deep, and opened her eyes again. She coughed a bit, and needed a moment to refill her oxygen before she had time to take in what has happened. 

“Killian! No, no, no!” She looked into his pale face, his eyes were closed, and he didn’t breath nor move. The red haired woman was still there, and Zelena recognized her now. It was Ariel, Killian’s fishy friend. And she had saved them. At least halfway.  
“Can you get us to the shore? Quickly? He’s not breathing!” Zelena would thank her later, but first she had to make sure to revive her pirate. 

Ariel  
Ariel nodded at the woman's dire request. Of course she would get them to shore. She was familiar enough with humans to know they couldn't survive in the water for long. If it was just one of them she had to hold on to, she could pull the water from Killian's lungs while swimming, but Ariel wasn't sure of how weakened the woman was to let go of her. "I'll hurry," Ariel assured her. The surf was crashing waves periodically over them and there was nothing Ariel could do to help that so she continued to persist towards shore.

As Ariel swam, her eyes roamed the strange looking sky. Orange and pink streaks in most lands would signal nice weather coming, but she had no idea what the black streaks meant. It seemed bad, whatever it was. In addition, she could see the oddly over-saturated colors of the land as they approached too. "Where are we?" Ariel asked, but cleared her throat with an apologetic grimace to the woman as she realized now was likely not the time to ask questions that really didn't matter. What mattered was breathing.

The surf broke against them as Ariel let go of the woman first since she was awake followed by Killian. He tumbled from her grasp but landed on his back. Ariel could have hoped that the crash against land would have forced the water from his lungs, but his eyes remained closed. He looked pale. "Oh dear," she worried as she dragged herself into a sitting position beside the pirate and pushed her hair back from her face. The water washed over them all again. She glanced quickly to the woman to make sure she was indeed going to survive. "I really don't like this place. It has a strange feeling to it like we're all about to be filleted." Goosebumps coursed over Ariel's flesh, but she had to focus. She made a fist and suddenly slammed it into the middle of Killian's chest. "Wake up, you stubborn pirate!" Leaning over him, she saw not a drop of water came up out of his lungs. Never ever had she entertained the thought of having to press her mouth to his, but his life was in danger and maybe he wouldn't remember it anyway. Making a face of resignation, she tilted his head back on the sand and plugged her fingers over his nose, preparing to blow air in to force the water out.

Zelena  
When the mermaid promised to hurry Zelena only nodded.  
And she did hurry. For a moment Zelena thought she would drown again, but she got a feeling when the crossed a wave so she held her breath and continued breathing once the were through. Most of the time she tried to look at Killian, and she was close to panicking when she saw him limply under Ariel’s arm.  
Time was of the essence and eventually the shore was close. 

Ariel let Zelena go when she could stand in the water. The surf was something she had underestimated, but all that mattered was Killian. Zelena fought her way to the sand in relative safety, and felt terribly exhausted. Her dress and the jacket was pulling her down, and she crawled to get to Killian.  
“Killian!” She saw that Ariel was beside him, and slammed her fist on Killian’s chest.  
The mermaid then leaned over him, and Zelena knew what she was about to do. She tried to save his life. For a long time.

While Ariel pressed her lips repeatedly onto his to give him artificial respiration, Zelena had reached both.  
Tears appeared in her eyes when Killian didn’t react.  
“Killian, wake up, please! Don’t do this to me.” She leaned over him as well, and pressed both hands with force to his stomach, hoping it would press out the water and make him cough. But it didn’t.

Ariel had stopped so Zelena could work, but since Killian didn’t show any reaction she realized it might be too late.  
Tears dropped into his face when she came closer, and cupped his cheeks.  
“You can’t do this to me, Killian, I beg you! I can’t lose you, please… wake up. I need you! I _love_ you!” Her voice was merely a whisper.  
Zelena’s heart broke, and she stroked through his hair.  
“You promised to protect me, you promised!” She tried to be strong, but she couldn’t.  
Her hands were trembling so were her lips when she leaned over him again, closed her eyes and gave him a last kiss. She put all her love and feelings she had for him into this kiss, and her tears wetted his cheeks.

Ariel  
Blowing a deep lungful of air into the pirate's mouth should have forced the water up. Why wasn't it working? Again and again, Ariel repeated the process. She had seen enough sailors do this with success. Was she doing something wrong? Panic spread through the mermaid and she began to fret over it, casting a wary side glance to Killian's friend as the other woman pushed on his chest. Still nothing. "So stubborn," she whispered before trying once more.

The cries of devotion broke Ariel's heart and she had to look away. This was love she was witnessing. It wasn't fair at all. This land had a bad feel to it and this made it worse. Ariel crossed her arms over herself as if that could protect her heart from breaking further. What more could they do? Ariel covered her face, shaking slightly when the other woman leaned over him, crying. She'd known Killian for well over a century. And then there was Alice…


	9. Chapter 9

Killian  
A wave of warmth crossed over Killian's skin and the urge to cough was immediate. With a bodily wracking convulsion, his eyes rolled up and he coughed, rolling onto his side. Sea water was coughed up and he took in a gasping breath only to cough again. The spasms shot pain through his chest, breathing even hurt, but what did that matter? He dropped his head to the sand and rolled onto his back again with a groan, his hand over his ribs.

Something had struck him in the chest while he and Zelena were still underwater in the cave and it had knocked precious breath out of him too soon. He could still feel the impact radiating across his ribs. His eyes rolled to the side and he saw Zelena there and he frowned. "Zelena," he rasped out.

"No..." The unfamiliar voice said warily as his vision swam with unshed moisture. "She's over there." Gesturing across him, he turned his head in the other direction.

Indeed, there she was. Killian sat up partially by leaning on his elbow and reaching to put an arm around Zelena. He saw now how soaked through she was and still wearing his coat. How the devil had she managed to get to shore wearing all of that? Then he remembered the other woman on his other side. Ariel. But for the moment, he would simply tuck his face into Zelena's neck as he breathed precious air, his fingers entwined in her wet locks. They had made it out of that cave and away from the madman. "Are you alright, love?" he asked as he leaned back to look her in the eyes and see for himself.

Zelena  
Something happened. Zelena felt a gust that blew her hair out of her face, and opened her eyes just in time to see a rainbow colored wave moving fast away. In the next moment Killian’s eyes flew open, and he rolled over to the side, coughing out the water.  
Zelena stared at him. She couldn’t believe it, but he seemed to be alive again!   
He rolled onto his back again, and his hand clutched a spot over his ribs that seemed to hurt.  
And then he said her name, and looked at Ariel.

Zelena’s vision was blurred by tears, but this time she was crying out of pure joy. Her pirate was back to life!  
Ariel pointed toward her, and Killian’s head moved and she could look into his wonderful blue eyes again.  
She covered her mouth with one hand, still overwhelmed by emotions, when Killian tried to sit up to put an arm around her. 

She didn’t hesitate but flung her arms around him, and held him tight while she felt his face in her neck, and his fingers playing with her hair.  
She nodded. “Now I’m alright, now I am,” she confirmed, and felt him leaning back to look at her. But Zelena wasn’t ready to let him go. She leaned over him so he was on his back again, lying in the sand. First she kissed him again, then she stroke through his hair with one hand while cupping his cheek with the other.   
“You’re back, you’re alive again,” she made a noise that was half laughter, half sobbing, and kissed him again.   
“Don’t ever do this to me again, I thought I had lost you.”   
She remembered the rainbow color wave that emerged only from true love kisses, and realized that she had indeed lost him. If it hadn’t been for their love Killian would be dead by now. Let alone the memories of the pain she had felt a moment ago made her cry again. 

Ariel came to her mind, and she looked at the mermaid. “And if it hadn’t been for you we both would be dead now. Thank you, Ariel. Thank you so much! Also for saving Killian.”  
Zelena was still stroking over his head when she explained “Ariel showed up and saved us. I almost drowned too, but you had already lost consciousness. Ariel brought us to the shore and tried to resurrect you. It just didn’t work.”  
Her lips trembled, and she couldn’t hold her voice steady. “You were dead. We tried but… you didn’t come back to us.”   
She shook her head, and tried to fight back her tears.   
“It was the worst moment in my life. Don’t ever do that to me again,” she repeated, “and I think the same might go for Ariel.”  
She briefly looked at the mermaid before she focused on Killian again and asked, “Are you hurt? What happened down there? I thought you could hold your breath longer than I.”  
She was holding his hand now with both of her hands, and stroked gently over his thumb.

Killian and Ariel  
Zelena's words felt like another impact. He had died? Bloody Wonderland. They needed to get out of this land. Killian was laying back again which immediately felt better for his ribs. He listened as she explained that Ariel had saved them both and turned his head toward Ariel. "That's not the first time you've saved me. Thank you," he told her and saw her pick up her hair to cover her face with it except leaving her eyes visible.

"Your call sounded urgent. Of course, I'd come." She shrugged and looked at Zelena. "It's nice to meet you again under better circumstances." Ariel's eyebrow twitched and Killian had no idea what that meant at all, but it seemed minor under the circumstances of their near-death experience.

Zelena asked him if he was hurt, and he shook his head in the sand. "Just my ribs, love. It's not important." He took a deep breath and sat up but was unable to hide the grimace at the flare of pain again. He'd had broken ribs before. He'd be fine. "I can usually hold my breath for quite a while but I recall something striking me as we were pushed out of the cave." He gingerly touched the space on his left side. "Knocked my breath out."

"Cave harpies," Ariel said, grimly. "They guard the way into secret places. They don't like to share their treasures and I'm kind of a treasure hunter." She shrugged. "You're lucky they didn't bite you. Getting punched, you can get over. Not a bite."

Killian merely stared at Ariel. It had been too dark in the cave for him to have gotten a look at what had hit him.

Ariel scooted closer to Killian and Zelena, speaking quietly. "Do you two want to get out of this land? This is a really bad place." She gestured at the oddly colored sky with its oversaturated red and orange sunrise. Or sunset. Killian wasn't sure at this point. "I can open portals, you know. One at a time, I can take you. If you don't mind going under water again, that is..." She winced as she looked between Killian and Zelena.

Killian turned his head to look at his love as he squeezed her hand. He didn't want to separate from her and he certainly didn't want to go into the water again so soon, but they did need to get the hell out of this land.

Zelena  
The brief interaction between Ariel and Killian gave Zelena a moment to get her emotions under control. Killian was alive, that was all that mattered.   
Zelena watched Ariel and thought for a moment if Ariel might have a crush on Killian. At least she blushed when he complimented her.   
Zelena wasn’t sure and thought she might ask Killian about that if she would think about it later.

When the mermaid addressed her by saying ‘it would be nice to meet her under better circumstances’, Zelena felt her cheeks burn.  
“I’m sorry our first meeting didn’t go well, and I want to apologize. She stretched her hand out for Ariel to shake it. “You didn’t have to rescue me after all I did, so I’m even more thankful you did.”   
For a moment Zelena thought how easy it would have been for her to let her drown, and save Killian, but then she remembered it had been too late for him too and only the kiss brought him back to life.  
She smiled when Ariel shook her hand, and focused on Killian again who told her what happened under water.  
Zelena had never heard of cave harpies, and was indeed glad they ‘only’ punched Killian, although with fatal consequences.

Her offer to get them out of this land was unexpected. Not that Zelena would doubt Ariel was not helpful, it was more a question of if they should leave. They came here to find a cure for Killian’s heart, and she knew what had to be done. She didn’t want to delay it unnecessarily, and going back meant it would get more complicated.   
When Ariel also mentioned that she could only bring them back one by one, Zelena hoped Killian would deny for now, but hoped the offer would still stand for later.

She felt Killian’s look on her, and he squeezed her hand. Zelena thought he wasn’t happy about that little detail either. So she said, “To be honest, despite the fact that Wonderland is dangerous I need to rest. So does Killian. I’m pretty sure his ribs are broken although he plays it down,” Zelena had of course noticed him grimacing of pain before. “Would it be possible to give him some time to recover first? I don’t think he can hold his breath long enough at the moment when every single breath pains him.”  
She gave Ariel a pleading look. “And I’m not sure I’m up to it either at the moment. I almost drowned too. Right now, all I want is to find a safe place and sleep a bit. Would you come for us again if he is calling for you?”

Zelena didn’t let go of Killian’s hand the whole time, and she had moved a bit so his head was now lying in her lap, on some panels of fabric.  
Since she had to do something now to make their situation better she asked Ariel, “Can you stay with him for a moment please? I just want to check out what’s behind this dune, see if I can find a place for us to rest that is safe.”

Zelena took off the jacket (that caused her some trouble as the wet fabric was sticking on her skin), and placed it under Killian’s head so he wouldn’t lie in the sand again.   
Standing up was also an effort, and Zelena felt how exhausted she was in every fiber of her body.   
But she really had to find a place to stay.   
So when she climbed the dune she gasped in surprise.   
Behind the dune she could see a forest, and - Zelena couldn’t believe her eyes - she could also see a small hovel close to the edge of the forest. It was halfway hidden between some trees, but she could see it from here perfectly. And it didn’t show signs of habitation.  
She just had to get Killian to it.

Killian and Ariel  
Zelena took a lot of care to set Killian up with his coat under his head for a pillow but once she left to go see what was beyond the dunes, he had to sit up again. He grimaced, unable to stop from doing so, and pressed hard on his ribs. "Bloody hell," he muttered, disgusted that this had happened. He glanced Zelena's way to see that she was now out of earshot as he turned his attention back to Ariel. "Thank you for saving us, Ariel. Truly, I owe you twice now. But I won't leave Zelena here. You'd have to take her first and come back for me. Still, how could I ever repay you?"

The mermaid gave Killian a patient glare of her own. "You don't even have to ask. You've saved me a time or two. Especially from that horrible Blackbeard." Ariel bit her lip as she grinned suddenly. "I saw something while you were asleep. True Love's Kiss." Ariel looked completely giddy over that. Killian just raised an eyebrow at her to allow her to explain. "When Zelena kissed you. How lucky you are to have found each other."

Killian had nothing to say in hearing this. He recalled feeling warmth cross over him just before choking up the water, but he did love Zelena very much and felt she was the most important person to him. He'd die for her just as he would for Alice. He touched his lips and glanced in the direction Zelena had gone with a smile spreading on his face.

Ariel was digging through the satchel she carried with her and held out her hand to Killian. He opened his palm and she placed a small shell in it. "Rest and when you're ready to go, I'll come back. I'll take her first if that makes you feel better about it." Killian thanked her and tucked the shell into his vest pocket with care. His fingers brushed against the small bottles he had stolen from the palace and he was surprised those hadn't broken upon being struck by the harpies.

"Tell your True Love goodbye for me?"

When Killian nodded, Ariel scooted herself toward the water and disappeared under its depths. With some care, Killian managed to stand up and walked slowly in the direction Zelena had gone. His hand remained on his ribs as he walked. The forest loomed overhead as Killian slowly ambled his way along hoping Zelena hadn't been captured or fallen into more quicksand. The thought made him anxious to find her.

Zelena  
She was about to head back and climbed the dune from the other side again. When she had reached the crest and was about to climb down the dune she could see a pair of fins vanishing in the water.   
Her eyes wandered down, and she saw Killian struggling along the sand, probably to look for her.  
“Killian! You shouldn’t walk alone,” Zelena shouted and hurried to get down to help him.  
She almost fell as she didn’t have any strength from the previous events, but let alone the view of him walking, and breathing, gave her some power back.  
The jacket was still lying in the sand, and Zelena picked it up before she was by his side, and carefully placed her arm around his waist, making sure she wouldn’t touch him where he was injured. 

“Put your arm around my shoulder as support. We might have to walk a bit, but I saw a hovel not that far away. I think we can stay there and rest a bit.” After a moment she asked, “will Ariel come back for us?”

They managed to climb up the dune together, and Zelena was glad when they reached the hovel eventually. She thought it was a miracle that she didn’t fall over her skirts. She looked at Killian who was quite pale, and Zelena knew he needed to rest as soon as possible.  
She stretched out her arm and was lucky. The door was unlocked. Zelena opened the door, and helped Killian inside. 

“See, over there’s a bed. We both should get rid of our wet clothes. Maybe I can find a blanket somewhere.”  
She began to search the hovel and found a couple of blankets, and even timber for a fire. There was a beam that was large enough to lock the door from inside.  
Eventually she even found flint and tinder and a few minutes later there was a fire burning in the fireplace.

“Let me help you with your clothes,” she offered. “You shouldn’t move too much.”

Killian  
Though Killian was scowling when he looked up to see Zelena coming down the sand dune toward him, he wasn't looking at her in anger. "I can walk, love. I didn't break my legs." Despite this, he still put his arm around her, telling himself it was for her benefit of course. She had almost drowned as well. She mentioned a hovel and the sound of four walls and a roof sounded like bliss to the wary pirate as he kept moving forward. Each breath was shallow and pained, but he would try to conceal that as much as possible so as not to worry Zelena further.

Indeed, there was a bed and a fireplace inside. That was really all they needed. He could have gone without the bed. Just walls to keep the danger away while they slept and healed.

He sat down on the bed feeling very heavy with fatigue and tried to unbutton the once-white shirt that was plastered to his skin. He'd managed to get the shirt off of one shoulder--the bruising on his ribs now exposed--when he looked up to see Zelena striking a fire up. He was impressed and tilted his head as he watched her work. In fact, he should be the one doing that for her.

But she turned around and came toward him offering to help him. "You're in quite the hurry to get me undressed, hm?" He couldn't help but flirt a bit with her even if he still felt like he might fall over. But in fact, he felt more alive now than he had when he woke to Zelena in his small apartment. "I can do this, love. Turn around and let me help you." His voice was low and gentle as he turned his finger in a circle to indicate that she should turn around so he could pull her laces open.

Zelena  
When Killian rejected her help Zelena rolled her eyes playfully. “Believe me love, you want my help. And my intentions are… honorable.” She knew he was teasing a bit, but the shock about having lost him was still affecting her, and she didn’t want him to feel unnecessary pain. For the first time she could see the bruise where that cave harpie hit him, and hoped he had ‘only’ some broken ribs and no internal bleedings. She could see how exhausted he was, but turned around when he asked he to.  
She felt the bodice loosened and turned around when she felt her back exposed.   
“Thank you, I’ll manage the rest alone. Now let me help you.”

She didn’t care if he would protest or not, but helped him to get off his shirt completely before she helped him up so she could at least open the laces that held his pants in place.  
She was very careful not to touch his lower body, and placed a blanket around his shoulders that would cover him before she stepped behind him, and simply pulled his pants down by grabbing it at his hips.  
It was some effort to get the pants off him as the leather stuck to his skin neatly.  
“I won’t look,” she teased a bit, but the blanket covered him anyway.   
Once the pants were under his knees she covered him with a second blanket around his hips, and told him to lie down.  
Only then she pulled the pants off completely, and finally placed a third blanket over him.

She kneeled down beside him, stroke again through his hair, and placed a kiss on his cheek.   
“Try to rest, I will as well.”  
She waited until he was asleep (it took only seconds), before she peeled off her dress, and wrapped the last blanket around her body.  
She felt fatigue overcome her, only stayed up to put more wood into the fire, and made herself as comfortable as possible on the floor (luckily there was an old rug) as close to the fireplace as she dared to.  
Her head had barely touched her arm when she drifted off to sleep.

Killian  
Zelena was helping him with his shirt and then her fingers were on his pants. Killian had to hold on to the footboard of the bed so he wouldn't fall back onto the bed, he was so exhausted, but he couldn't believe she was undressing him. He could do this himself. And her fingers were particularly close. If he had been more himself, he wouldn't have stood for this and would have grabbed her to kiss her properly. But this was not the time for thoughts like that so he closed his eyes so he could focus on standing. She said she wouldn't look, but he couldn't help but reply with, "I wouldn't mind if you did." The blanket was warm and the fire was spreading through out the room and he felt at peace. She promised to sleep as well and within moments, he relaxed.

Hours later, the chill in the room woke him. Looking to his side, he at first had no idea where he was. His skin was exposed. The moonlight was pouring in through a window which the curtain didn't completely cover.

When he moved, he remembered the broken ribs and sucked in breath, but he still sat up. His bare feet touched the floor. The fire was merely embers now. A bump on the floor showed him that Zelena had been sleeping there. Why the devil had she taken the floor? He recalled her beside him in the bed when he was falling to sleep. Shaking his head, he clutched the blanket around his waist, disregarding the chill in the air as his arm needed to be free. He lifted one of the smaller logs that he could manage one handed without straining his ribs and squatted so he could set it on the fire, blowing on it to cause the fire to grow again. When he was satisfied with the warmth that was coming from the fireplace to fill the room again, he shifted so that he could see Zelena's face with the flickering light dancing across her features.

She looked in peace and he was loathe to disturb her. In fact, he was certain he couldn't lift her in his current predicament, so he laid down next to her on the floor and fixed her blankets so that she would remain covered from any residual chill in the air. Her hair draped across her arm and he could see the firelight playing in the ginger locks.

If he had decided that they should have stayed and fought against the March Hare in that cave, they wouldn't have gone into the water and nearly drowned, but at what other cost? Perhaps they would be imprisoned by the madness at this time instead of being free in the hovel. What they needed was to get the hell out of this mad land. He didn't even care about his heart at the moment. Risking Zelena's life was a fool's errand.

Sighing, he closed his eyes and tried to sleep.

Zelena  
Something brushing over her shoulder woke her up. Zelena groaned in pain. She was completely stiff and remembered slowly what had happened. It was still dark outside, but something was different. Then she saw another arm and realized that Killian was lying beside her. Zelena blinked. Why was he lying on the floor? She had left him in the bed so he could recover. The floor was surely not the right place for him, and she sighed. Stubborn pirate. Although she thought it very cute of him to join her. 

He was still asleep and looked so peaceful. She rejected the urge to stroke through his hair so she wouldn’t wake him.   
Very slowly she began to stretch her body, and when she thought she was able to stand up she did so. The hours of sleep hadn’t been enough, she was still tired and felt weak, but she also knew it was because they needed water and food. Something Zelena didn’t know where to find. At least not alone by night in a forest probably full of dangers.   
She thought about their situation. Killian needed rest and they needed supplies. It was probably better to call Ariel again so she could take them back. Or him at least. 

Zelena’s eyes widened. Of course, that could work. She swallowed, but didn’t hesitate to do it. A sleeping Killian made things easy for her, even easier if he was in a deep slumber so she could move him without waking him up. 

She looked at the dress she had worn before. If she was lucky and the vials were still intact…  
Without making a noise she went over to the pile of cloth and rummaged around to look for the satchel. To her surprise she found it and everything inside was still intact. Probably her mother had increased the structure of the vials so the precious potions wouldn’t be spilled if the vial should be dropped.  
She began to look through them, and indeed found two vials she could use to knock Killian out for a bit.  
It wasn’t easy to do it, she didn’t want to betray him, but it was the only way. He would never let her do what she had to do.

Zelena opened the vials and poured a bit of one liquid into the other. Immediately some smoke rose from the vial, and Zelena had almost lost consciousness when she smelled it, but luckily she held the steaming vial to the side and stayed awake.   
Quickly she went over to Killian, and held the vial directly under his nose. She could hear him groan, and waited a moment to make sure he had inhaled enough before she closed the vial again.  
While rummaging around the hovel before she had seen an old rope that she fetched now.   
She had actually planned to tie his hands to his back, but she didn’t want to cause him more pain with his broken ribs. The bed would suffice for him.

It was an effort to drag the pirate back to the cot, but Zelena managed. Killian was already groaning, a sign that he would wake up soon again, so Zelena had to hurry.   
She brought him into a sitting position on the floor, and leaned him with his back against the cot. Then she took his right hand and tied it firmly to the bed frame.   
She couldn’t do it with his left arm without causing him terrible pain. So she removed his hook, used the rest of the rope and wrapped it a few times around his waist, tying his left arm as tight as she dared to his waist. The blankets were still covering him up and only his arm and maybe his shoulder would get cold. But not for long.  
She made sure that he wouldn’t be able to free himself so easily before she cupped his cheek and kissed him passionately to wake him up.


	10. Chapter 10

Killian  
There was warmth and movement at his lips and Killian stirred. He recognized Zelena kissing him but his position was all wrong. Something was digging into his back and his right arm, his left too now that he was waking up. But his attention was on his mouth mainly. Opening his eyes, he saw that the room was still dimly lit only by moonlight. It was still night. Why was he sitting up? He didn't recall doing that.

He tried to cup Zelena's face, but his arm was held fast and out to the side. Breaking the kiss, he turned his head to look to the side and saw the rope securing his arm to the footboard of the bed. His eyes followed the rope as it led to being wrapped around his middle, his left arm as well. No brace.

"What the hell?" he mumbled before looking up at Zelena. "If you're into things like this, you could tell me first, love. No need to take my hook..." He noticed something was off with her attitude, however. The way she had kissed him wasn't the same as the time before in the cave. "What are you doing, Zelena?"

Zelena  
She could feel him waking up, and once he realized he couldn’t move his arms he broke the kiss.  
If things wouldn’t be serious Zelena might have laughed about his comment, but she couldn’t. And he realized there was something up.  
“Killian, I’m sorry, but this is the only way,” she began, and gently stroke a strand of hair out of his face. She felt her heart racing, but she had to explain it to him.  
“There is something I held back from you I’m afraid. You remember I found that page in the book that said you can be saved by getting another, pure heart. I was wrong by suggesting to simply take one heart my mother stored in her boxes. Because that heart… must be given _willingly_. It wouldn’t have worked anyway, but it will work now. And that’s the reason I had to tie you up, I’m so sorry. I want you to have my heart. I’m sure it will work, it might not be pure at the moment, but by the act of giving it to you, it will be cleansed. A life… for a life.”

Zelena swallowed, and took his hook. “You told me it’s enchanted to rip out a heart. I have never used a hook before, but… I don’t have magic. So this will hopefully work.”  
Zelena took a deep breath, held the point of the hook directly over her heart and thrusted it into her own chest.  
There was pain, and she groaned, but also a yellow light that emitted from her chest. She could feel it was working. Zelena grimaced in pain, but when she withdrew the hook her heart was cupped within the space inside the hook.  
It was a strange feeling to see her own heart, and it was a strange feeling to be heartless. This was actually the first time Zelena’s heart wasn’t inside her anymore.

It was still glowing in a bright red color, but Zelena could already see some white sparks emitting when she took it and moved it towards Killian’s chest.  
She had to wait until it was fully cleansed before she could shove it into his chest.  
Enough time to say good-bye and thank him for everything he had done. This was his time now.

Killian  
Killian had a bad feeling about this. He really hoped she was merely into adventurous sex and that he hadn't somehow misjudged her completely.

As soon as she mentioned the book and the pure heart, he knew. His mouth opened slightly in shock over what she was telling him. When she said she wanted him to have her heart, he was already shaking his head. "Love, please be reasonable. I don't need you to lose your heart to me like this. This would kill you, don't you understand?" Clearly, she did because she went as far as to use his hook to stab herself in the chest. He grimaced, completely disbelieving what he was seeing. When she pulled her own heart out, he looked up from it to her eyes. She couldn't be serious. "What about Robin, love?" He remembered her confession about Robin in the cave and that caused him such sadness that she would be ready to die for him and to never see her daughter again. "This isn't what I want, Zelena."

She was hellbent on following through with this ridiculous plan because she began to bring the heart toward his chest as a bright light began to shine through it. He turned his head toward his secured wrist, squinting his eyes in the dim lighting. The end of the rope was visible and immediately he could see the way she had tied it. Yanking his arm at the knot would do nothing, but if he could pull the end, it would open the slip-knot easily. Grimacing, Killian rocked onto his side so that he was turning his left shoulder to her to keep her from pushing her heart into his chest, his knee shoving at her. He had to ignore the pain from his ribs. Nothing could be worse than Zelena's suicide mission.

"No, Zelena! I won't have this. I don't accept!" Meanwhile, his fingers kept reached to pull the end of the rope. Jerking his left arm back, he was gaining purchase as well. If he could just keep her back long enough, he'd be free of her ropes. The rope must have been very old because it snapped in the strain and he felt it loosen immediately. With a swift move, he was able to knock the hook and heart out of her hand and he landed flat on top of Zelena so that he was pinning her down.

Zelena  
“I am… reasonable,” said when she looked at her heart that was indeed beginning to change.”Robyn will survive without me. She has Alice and you from now on. She doesn’t need me. But Alice… she needs her father and you deserve happiness with now both of your daughters.”  
Her eyes wandered from the heart that was now glowing in a bright white to Killian.  
“All those years without her, loving her so much, and never getting even close to her… it affects both of you. Alice needs you, and this is the only way. And this is what **I** want.”

It was time. She moved the heart to his chest, but he was struggling and still trying to talk her out of it.  
“Killian please, let me do this,” Zelena said calmly. “Don’t make me knock you out another time.”  
She managed to bring the heart to his chest, ready to push it inside.  
“I love…” she couldn’t finish the sentence. Killian’s hand was suddenly free, and the hook and the heart dropped to the floor when he knocked it out of her hand.  
In the next moment Zelena was flat on her back, the weight of the pirate pinning her to the floor.

“No! Killian please, let me do this!” Zelena tried to shove him off of her. “I can’t let you suffer any longer, I love you too much, and you love Alice. It’s the only way!”  
Tears of desperation filled Zelena’s eyes. So close, only a few more seconds…  
She looked for her heart that was lying close to her and grabbed for it. Maybe she could still shove it into his chest. 

Killian  
Despite his desperate attempt to get free of the ropes and wrestling Zelena to the ground, Killian had heard what she said about him acting as father to even Zelena's daughter. He did love Robyn as a daughter as well because she loved his Alice. But there was no way he would accept Zelena's decision to kill herself for him. "This is not the only way, Zelena," he said to her through clenched teeth as she struggled to push him off of her. His ribs were hurting, but he was able to ignore it. Getting through to Zelena and her stubborn streak was more important.

He had to use his legs to keep hers still and continue to shift his upper body to pin her arms as she managed to keep slipping her wrists from his grasp. She still managed to grab her heart and the hook and he saw her lift it from the corner of his eye. He knew he couldn't roll onto her arm to stop her because she'd only shove her heart through his back. So, with his face mere inches from hers, Killian looked her in the eyes and said the first thing that popped into his head that might possibly stop her. "Marry me, Zelena."

Zelena  
"It IS the only way, and you know it," Zelena objected and lifted the heart, aiming at his chest. She could do it! She felt him trying everything to stop her, but she would do it. She froze and her eyes widened when she stared at him.  
"Marry you?"  
His question had completely brought her out of concept.  
Her hand with the heart dropped back to the floor.  
She shook her head, but it was not because she declined his proposal, he had said the only sentence that was able to give her seconds thoughts.

"I would marry you, but Alice is more important for you than I am." With tears in her eyes she tightened the grip around her heart. Since it was not in her she thought the decision would be easier to make. It was more rational, and the right thing to do. Her arm began to move.

Killian  
Killian was watching her face when he asked her to marry him and because of his close attention, he realized that her heart being absent from her body kept her from agreeing. They were true loves. It was the only rational explanation as to why she was still trying to push her heart into his chest without consideration of how that would affect him. "Damn it, Zelena!" he yelled, frustrated beyond ability to restrain himself.

He had to let go of gripping her other arm and reached for her hand holding the heart. He leaned on his left elbow so he could raise up enough that he could shove her hand between them; his chest pushing down on the back of her hand forced her heart back into its rightful place. Swiftly, he yanked the hook out of her hand and slammed it onto the floor.

His own heart was racing and he was frowning at Zelena as he remained over her, still watching her face for a change. He could only hope that with her heart back in place, she would consider what he had asked her and would drop this ridiculous folly of hers. It was the only way they could move forward.

Zelena  
He got angry and before Zelena could prevent it he managed to wrestle her down and pushed the heart back into _her_ chest.  
Her eyes widened when her heart was back in place, but she was only frustrated that she hadn’t succeeded.  
“What have you done,” she first whispered, and then repeated louder “What have you done! Your hook had only one enchantment for ripping out a heart.”  
Zelena was angry, and yet thought he was so wonderful.  
She grabbed his collar with both hands, and pulled him closer to kiss him. 

Once they parted, she tried to reason with him.  
“Killian, I love you more than you can imagine! When you were… dead… at the shore… it was a true love’s kiss that brought you back. It was the worst moment in my whole life when you didn’t come back. But… try to understand. I would like nothing better than to marry you, but this also means I would have to witness how miserable you are about Alice; and she would be too. We could never be a real family because being close to Alice would kill you. I can’t let that happen! Please Killian, I do love you, but I know the love for a child is stronger than anything. Love means to make sacrifices, and you have the love of Alice and Robyn… and my love in your heart. I want you to be happy! I beg you, take my heart. No one else would give you one! I can’t see you suffer, neither can I see suffer Alice, especially not when this will also affect Robyn!”

Zelena hoped he would understand and agree. Zelena was replaceable, but his daughter wasn’t. He must see that she was right!

Killian  
“And what, exactly, do you think would happen to me without you in my life, darling,” he asked, as calmly as he could manage without yelling at her to get her to understand his point of view. “That worst feeling of your life would be my reality. And not just for a few moments but for as long as I could survive without you.” He doubted it would be very long either. “We are two halves of a whole now.” He shook his head, trying to remain calm but failing. Everything was close enough to perfect but she was trying to rip them apart. He could deal with standing back from Alice so long as no one had to die! Yes, he would be saddened by the distance but he would be happy enough in knowing they were all living now that he knew the alternative. 

Her kiss was wonderful but he was incredibly saddened that she was so adamant to leave him. Killian brushed his fingers through her hair as it framed her face and he couldn’t imagine not looking into her eyes every day from that day forward. How could she give this up? There was nothing she could say that could possibly make him understand. He closed his eyes, resigned at what he would need to do to get this terrible idea out of her head, and kissed her neck to keep her from seeing this sadness on his face and the moisture in his eyes. It was probably best that he try to distract her from talking about it further anyway. He certainly needed the distraction.

Zelena  
He did not understand. But he would when it was too late. And he would deeply regret it.  
“It might take a while, but you’ll get over it,” she said. “Think about Alice. Have you thought about how _she_ might feel? You told me in the Enchanted Forest when I thought I had lost Robyn.”  
Zelena recited his words. “Show her ... show her much she means to you and how much you love her.” She gave him the same look he had given her this time.  
“You held Robyn back when I stepped into that circle, you would have let me die because _it was the right thing to do!_” She shook her head, and wanted to say more, but reasoning with him was not possible. He wouldn’t give her up. And deep inside Zelena knew she would not give up on him if the tables were turned. But this was different. 

She felt his fingers in her hair, and although he might have tried to hide it, Zelena saw the emotions in his face. It was not that it had been an easy decision to give up her life, but it was worth for him.  
He began to kiss her neck, and Zelena closed her eyes, and wrapped her arms around him, carefully this time because of his broken ribs.  
“Maybe you’re right,” she whispered into his ear when she realized that there was nothing she could say to accept her decision. “Yes, I will marry you. We will find another way.”  
She still had the potion in her satchel, the one that would allow to rip out a heart. She had almost forgotten about it, and he didn’t know. And this time she had to do it without him being awake. 

She could delay it a day or two. He probably needed some time to get back to his feet, and she could even do it in the Enchanted Forest. Maybe that would be even better. He would be safe there, and she would be home.  
For now she enjoyed his caressess, and gave them back.  
The thought of both marrying was so sweet, Zelena regretted that she couldn’t go through with it.

Killian  
Zelena's repetition of his own words to her and the fact that she had remembered them so well showed him even more how much he loved her and how she loved him. He squeezed his eyes shut to keep the tears away as he sighed and moved his kisses from her neck to her cheek. Keeping his face out of sight should mean she wouldn't see how she was tearing his heart out with everything she was saying. Even saying she would marry him and find another way, he could tell she was only stalling. She would find another way to end her life for him was what she meant--blasted, stubborn woman--but he loved her even more for her determination.

Killian said nothing but mumbled what sounded like an agreement as he continued to show her in a physical way what she meant to him since words were failing him at the moment.

By the early morning rays of light on the Wonderland coast, Killian got up and put on his now dried trousers and shirt so he could relieve himself outside. While he was out, he saw something familiar in the treeline and hurried over to it. It was his leather coat that the cat had stolen. His sword was jammed into the dirt just below it. The coat was hanging on a scarecrow. "What the bloody hell...?" he mumbled in disbelief as he looked all around himself. The only thing he saw as a hint was a quick flash of sharp teeth grinning at him from above. He quickly yanked the sword from the ground and pointed it upright. A flash of a winking eye and a rumbling chuckle of a purr echoed around him. Killian hooked his coat off of the scarecrow and backed away from the trees but found he wasn't being pursued.

When he felt confident enough to look, he held the sword under his left arm so that he could check the pockets of the coat. The pixie beans were still there. Good. His eyes moved back to the hovel where Zelena was. Now, he thought grimly, he would have to take care of Zelena.

He would enter the hovel again wearing his coat again. The fine leather felt like instant relief to him in wearing it again. It felt like home, and it was almost time to go.

Zelena  
He mumbled something, but Zelena knew he didn't buy it. She could think about that later, right now she enjoyed their first intimate time together. Despite his broken ribs he showed her how much he loved her, and Zelena did the same, but she was still determined she was doing the right thing.  
Exhausted from the day she fell into a deep slumber.

She slept until she woke up by the creak of a door. A smile laid on her lips when she thought about last night. Still sleepy she slowly opened her eyes and saw Killian enter the hovel, fully dressed. Zelena frowned, and needed a moment to wake up.  
"Killian? The coat… I thought it was lost," she mumbled, and yawned before getting into a sitting position.  
The blanket slid off her shoulder, and she pulled it up as a cold breeze cane from the door.  
"Where did you find it?"

Killian  
Killian was as perplexed about the coat as Zelena and the expression on his face would show it. Shaking his head, he pushed the door shut behind him to keep the chill of the air out. "If you would believe it, I found it on a scarecrow. With my sword." His belt had been left in the hovel and now he was able to sheathe the sword for later. Killian knelt before Zelena and held his hand out to her to show her the pixie bean in his palm. "And with this. It's time to go home, love. The tavern below my quarters serves excellent breakfast. I can even send for a bath for you while we await the cook. Have you ever eaten breakfast in a tub?" The slightest smile traced his face as he winked at Zelena. He was still bothered by what he was going to have to do, but at least they had a way home that didn't involve submerging in the frigid water they nearly perished in. If she was ready, he would let her take the bean and do the honors that would send them home to the Enchanted Forest.

Zelena  
“But… how is that possible? The cat stole it,” she began, but suddenly smiled. “I guess it’s Wonderland, isn’t it?”  
He knelt down before her and opened his hand. Zelena’s jaw dropped in surprise; and also relief.  
“The bean!” She looked at him when he said it would be time to go home, and Zelena nodded.  
“Only if you have a bath as well. With me.” Why not enjoying another day with him? She wanted to make it a perfect day that he could always remember.  
“And I’d love to have a breakfast with you in the tub.”

Zelena stood up, slipped into the gown as she didn’t want to go home covered in an old blanket, and took the bean he offered her.  
Before she would throw it she hugged him, and kissed him passionately.  
A yellow, crackling portal opened and together they stepped through.


	11. Chapter 11

Zelena  
They appeared in the Forest near the village where Killian lived, and when they walked back Zelena took his hand. 

“Well, it was an adventure, I’d say. One I’ll never forget.” She looked at him, and gave him a loving smile before saying, “And I found my true love. Aside from giving birth to Robyn and hold her in my arms for the first time, this will be my most memorable moment in my life.  
She stroked her thumb over the back of his hand. “I’m just glad we both made it out of there - alive.”  
She almost choked on those words, and she hated herself for lying to him.  
_Everything to give him a perfect day,_ she told herself, and eventually they arrived at the tavern.

Zelena went ahead after Killian showed her where the bathtub was, and sighed in pleasure when she plunged into the hot water.  
It was heaven for her stiff body, and she closed her eyes while she relaxed. Now only Killian had to join her, and everything would be perfect.

Killian  
Every mention of how she would never forget their Wonderland adventure sent a crack through Killian's resolve to do what needed to be done to save her life from herself. While he thought he would have to force a smile to keep Zelena from suspecting anything, as they walked, he found that he was simply glad to be in her company and hearing her speak of all the nice things that happened during their adventure made the smile genuine. "Nor will I ever forget it." He chuckled as he held her hand as they walked, her thumb brushing over his hand. He couldn't stop looking at her, simply to take in ever detail, because he wasn't sure how this day exactly would change, but he hoped she would continue to smile.

Zelena got into the bath and seemed quite perfectly happy. "I'm going to go order our breakfast and I'll join you momentarily," he told her. He kept his eyes on her for a moment longer before heading for the kitchen, and then sighed heavily, a shudder wracking his body. He hated this! Why did he insist that they go into the castle?! She never would have found her mother's spell book and they could continue to be happy knowing they were true loves. "Bloody hell," he muttered, his voice cracking.

"What's wrong with you?" the bartender asked with a bushy brow raised.

Killian bobbed his head, thinking of something else to say that would make sense. "Broke my damned ribs. I need them wrapped." Since Killian had already been wincing, the story was accepted. "Also, I need to order food for my lady."

One of the kitchen maids, a matronly woman old enough to be Killian's grandmother, if that were even possibly since he was pushing 200 years himself, came from the kitchens with yards of muslin fabric in hand and a can of some substance and told him to take his coat and shirt off. He wrinkled his nose at the can but she told him to not start complaining now because this was going to hurt. Nothing could be worse than what he was going to do afterwards, he was certain. Regardless, the old woman pulled the bandages very tightly and Killian did holler once very loudly. Doing so did actually help him relieve some of the tension that had been building in him. Sometimes one just needed to yell.

By the time he had his shirt and unfastened vest back on (his coat had been left in his room), the breakfast tray and tea were ready. Before he carried the tea tray into Zelena's sight, he slipped one of the Wonderland bottles from his vest and put one drop into one of the tea cups. Next he pulled the other bottle labeled 'Forget Me Not' and put a drop of that in too. He didn't want Zelena to forget him just her suicide plan and he hated that he had to do this at all. In fact, he knew he didn't know a damned thing about magic and spells and only hoped that this was correct. One way to find out.

Rounding the corner to the bath, he smiled at seeing Zelena again and set the tray down on a table beside her shoulders and then lifted his own tea from the tray. "Er, I'll have to wait on bathing just yet, love. The cook found out about my ribs and she insisted on binding them for me. Freshly bandaged."

Zelena  
Killian came back, a tray with two steaming cups and some food balancing. He set it down on a table that was attached to the tub, probably exactly for this purpose, and took one cup for himself.  
She was a bit disappointed when he told her he couldn’t join her, but she understood of course, and was angry with herself because she hadn’t thought of bandaging him before.  
“I hope the pain is bearable. I’m sorry I didn’t think of it.”  
She lifted the cup with the tea to her lips, and smelled it first.  
“Hm, smells quite herbal. I think I’ll like this. And thanks for the breakfast.”  
She tested the temperature by taking a small sip, and found it not too hot.  
“It has an interesting flavor, but I don’t recognize it. What kind of plant is it made of?”  
Zelena took another sip, and began to feel strange. She felt slightly dizzy, and emptied the cup quickly. But the feeling didn’t go away.  
Her expression went blank when the potions began to affect her, erasing all her memories from Wonderland. 

She didn’t know what was going on, and once the magic was done her eyes widened in surprise.  
“Where the… Killian!”  
Zelena almost shrieked when she realized that she was taking a bath, _naked_, and he was looking at her.  
She quickly grabbed a towel and covered her body.  
“What is going on here? How do I get in here? And why are _you_ here?”  
Zelena’s cheeks burned in embarrassment over the fact that Killian had seen her taking a bath. She groaned.  
“Where the hell am I?” She eventually burst out. She couldn’t remember to get into that tub, she didn’t remember how she even got here! Where was ‘here’ actually?  
She did remember that she met Killian the day before, and she also remembered to come back to check on him as he had been… in a really bad shape.  
“I was about to enter your room because you didn’t answer!” She tried to remember what happened, and rubbed her forehead. “Did I pass out somehow?”  
It was the only explanation for her, but she couldn’t even remember that.  
Still holding the towel to cover her body she gave Killian a questioning look, demanding answers.

Killian  
Zelena sniffed the tea and there was a slight furrow in Killian's brow as he almost thought she wasn't going to drink it. "Um," was all he said to her inquiry and he shook his head. Her nose was well trained, it seemed, because she recognized something different in it. Maybe he should slap the cup out of her hand and beg her to find another way to live a long, happy life with him. He could keep trying... But the cup went to her mouth and Killian couldn't watch her drink it. He turned his face away, intent on walking out the door.

He had stalled too long, because as soon as Zelena groaned, Killian looked back at her. She shrieked his name and his eyebrows shot up in alarm. He hadn't quite expected that reaction! But he should have! She wouldn't know that he already knew her body intimately.

"I... ah," he blanched looking down at the food tray instead of at her as she covered herself with a towel and told him the last thing she remembered. His hand cupped the back of his neck as he decided turning around would be the best course of action. "I brought you breakfast. Aye... you don't remember?"

Evidently, it worked. His eyes squeezed shut as he stood with his back to Zelena so she could collect herself. She would live and everything was back to the way it should be. Except for the loneliness in his heart was even heavier now. The vial was in his vest pocket. Perhaps he should drink some as well. But the thought of that made him feel worse and Killian knew he'd never want to forget that he loved Zelena. It was terrible enough that he'd had to take that away from her.

"I'll go, love. Stay and enjoy your breakfast. I'll be at the tavern when you're done." She would find a small pile of folded clothing on a nearby bench for later.

Zelena  
His behavior puzzled her. He looked away immediately when she grabbed for the towel, but there was something odd with the whole situation.  
She couldn’t see his face as he had turned his back to her, but his shoulder hung, and his posture expressed sadness. Maybe he was still weak, Zelena thought. He didn’t look good yesterday, could he be sick?  
If she could only remember how she ended in this bath tub! Her heart pounded like crazy with Killian close to her.  
If he only knew she wished it was he who was in the tub so she could have looked upon him instead of the other way around. Now she felt ashamed that he had seen her.  
She had to get out of here and get dressed.

His answers were not satisfying at all, and Zelena was eager to find out what had happened; and why she couldn’t remember.  
So when Killian told her he’d wait in the tavern, she stepped out of the tub as soon as he had closed the door behind him and she was alone.  
There was a black gown lying over a stool, and some clean and fresh clothes folded on a bench.  
The gown looked like someone had just wore it, and Zelena admired it for a moment. It looked amazing, but she didn’t dare to touch it. Sighing she looked at the simple dress with a corsage and a blouse, and put it on. 

Some minutes later she appeared downstairs and spotted Killian sitting in a corner. Her previous assumption seemed to be right - he looked sad.  
She winded through the people occupying the room, and slid on a chair opposite to Killian.  
“I’m… sorry I yelled at you. I just... “ she didn’t know how to say it, but she felt her cheeks burn again, and maybe this was better than words.  
“Are you alright? You look sad to be honest. I know your heart was causing you trouble yesterday, is it still that bad?”  
Zelena took his hand to comfort him, and simply showing him that she would be there for him.

Killian  
What had he done? Killian pinched the bridge of his nose with his eyes squeezed shut as he tried to breathe normally, to regulate his heartrate, and to not lose his control. He’d made a bloody mistake. Zelena loving him was one of the most wonderful things that had happened to him, and he thought to her as well, and he’d gone and used a potion of the Queen of Hearts to remove that. He was no better than Cora in that moment, he thought. He’d just gone and ripped his own heart out and left Zelena’s slightly emptier.

Hearing Zelena shriek his name as she had done was still etched in his brain. The way she concealed herself from him. It was all over.

His fingers touched the vials in his pocket as he took them out to glance at them in his palm. The glass clinked against the silver rings on his fingers. He could forget too. It would take this pain away. But then he would still have that other pain, the curse, and no idea how exactly to cure himself. He might continue searching without the knowledge he had. Now that he knew the one way to cure himself, he didn’t want it anymore. At least he had that little reassurance. One less thing to want. But now he would want Zelena and he couldn’t have her. On the other hand, he wouldn’t have had her anyway if she had killed herself for him.

Sighing loudly through his nose, he slipped the vials back into his pocket.

“What’s your deal today?” the bartender asked, sliding a small glass of rum towards him. Killian only looked at the glass, but shut his eyes again. “Ribs still bothering you?”

He sighed again and rolled his eyes up to look at the bartender. “Everything is bothering me.”

“Well? Bottoms up. It’s good for what ails you.”

Was it? Perhaps he should just suffer over this for a while. He did not want to forget, after all.

But while he couldn’t take the potion to forget, he could lessen the pain a bit, couldn’t he? His eyebrow twitched as he figured, why the devil not? Reaching for the glass, he threw back the hot liquid in one gulp then got up and moved to a table in a corner. He really did not want to talk about what his 'deal' was today.

Zelena joined him a moment later, and Killian briefly glanced up at her through his eyelashes, then looked back down at his hand on the table again when she sat down. Her fingers slipped into his hand and he did look up at her then.

She asked if it was his heart again bothering him and a slight lift to the corner of his mouth raised. If she only knew. "Don't worry, love. I'm alright. I've just got a difficult decision weighing on me, but I think I know what to do." He squeezed her hand, appreciating the gesture, and said, "Moving this far away was an ill-conceived notion. I think… I think I’ll be moving back to the village. Seeing you… yesterday and the fact that you came back for me reminded me of what I’m lacking.” He shook his head as he watched her eyes. “I don’t want to be alone anymore.”

Zelena  
She realized too late if taking his hand was maybe stepping over the line, but he seemed to appreciate it when he squeezed her hand back. She listened to him, never taking her eyes off of his when told her what bothered him.  
Zelena suddenly felt her heart racing. Was ist possible he meant by saying that he had seen her yesterday, and the fact that she came back for him… that there was a _chance_ he could mean that he missed her by saying what he was lacking? He didn’t want to be alone anymore!

Zelena took her other hand, and placed it on his hand as well.  
She was happy and touched by hearing he wanted to move back. Maybe…  
Zelena knew he would decline, it was unthinkable for him, but Robyn and Alice would get married, and they would live together. Somewhere else.  
Zelena hadn’t thought about what she would do once Robyn would leave her, but she was thinking about it now.  
She loved her farm, it was her and Robyn’s home, a home where a new, and better life had begun for her. She didn’t want to leave, but she also didn’t want to be alone. It was a large farm, and maybe…

She swallowed, and her voice trembled slightly in excitement when she said “You know, Robyn will soon leave me. I have a large farm, and the village where Alice, Robyn and the others live is just a bit further afar than your village is. If you… would consider it at least, I’d like to offer you to stay at my farm as long as you want. You would have your own rooms, an extra bathroom, and you’d have free meals thrice a day. You don’t even have to run into me if you don’t want to. And… I wouldn’t be alone either. You can come and go whenever you want. We would just be...close neighbours.”

Her eyes would tell him how much she would love to have him around. Hope, fear that he could reject her offer, joy and excitement were in her eyes too. Her heart had never beaten faster.  
“Just… think about it, will you?” She asked when he didn’t say anything after she had finished talking.

Killian  
Killian could only stare at Zelena as she spoke. His lips parted in astonishment. Even after he had made her forget that they loved each other, she was still open to offering a place for him to live. With her! Think about it? He was! And he needed no more time than a few breaths to answer.

Since Zelena was clasping his hand with both of hers, he ducked his head as he smiled and shook his head, nearly disbelieving his own ears. Perhaps Zelena should know that he truly cared for her because her genuine offer showed him how much she cared for him. She had so much love in her heart. He’d been right about that eight years prior when they first met, too.

In addition to the convenience of living on the same plot of land as his true love and the imminent courtship that would no doubt ensue, this would be the perfect solution to keep him from accidentally running into Alice in the village. Meetings could be planned with Zelena’s help. Everything he wanted would be right there.

Killian squeezed her hand as he looked back up at her, the grin still on his face. The joy in his own eyes matched the excitement he saw in hers. “I have one requirement if I’m to accept your offer: That I see you as often as you’d like to see me.” He wanted to tell her that he loved her right then, and he almost let it slip, but he held fast. Being considered close neighbors, as she offered, had the potential to grow into more once again.

Zelena  
He shook his head but smiled. Zelena tilted her head, and when he squeezed her hand again, she knew. The grin on his face filled her heart with joy before he even accepted her offer, but he had one requirement.  
Zelena thought whatever that was she would go with it, she just wanted to have him around. And now he surprised her. She laughed, and felt the need to give him a warning about that.  
“Killian, believe me, if you really want to see me as often as I want to see you then you should move right into my own rooms.”  
She was so happy that he had accepted that she felt carefree enough to speak freely right from the bottom of her heart.

She squeezed his hand once more before she let go, and said “Why don’t you move in today? Robyn is already packing up her stuff, and I’m sure for a few days she won’t mind to have her father-in-law around. And you’ll see Alice when she comes around to pick up her bride.”  
She gave him a thoughtful look, and added, “And maybe we can find a way to cure your heart. I refuse to believe there wouldn’t be a way. Every curse can be broken.”

She beamed at him, and stood up.  
“Let’s get your stuff.”  
Zelena was more than happy. A day ago, when she met Killian again she hadn’t thought that they would end up becoming neighbours; and maybe even more. He wanted to see her as often as she wanted to see him, she had to make sure not to overdo it in the beginning. 

Some time later both were heading back to Zelena’s farm. Killian’s stuff was packed up in a small handbarrow Zelena was pulling because of his broken ribs (she had found out in his room while packing). Her heart was filled with joy, happiness and love for him, and her fingers entwined his.  
She gave him a loving look, and hoped he would stay at her side forever.

Killian  
Killian was still grinning when Zelena told him that he may as well just move into her rooms. "Okay," was all he said, accepting that courting Zelena would be so much easier. She still wanted him the same as before, it seemed. He chuckled at this, completely disbelieving how this day had turned in a direction he hadn't expected in the slightest. Their future along with Alice's seemed to be as close to perfect as he could hope for.

Epilogue:

Not long after returning, Ivy's curse came into fruition. With no other options available to stop it from happening, Killian knew he was going to forget everything in this life and what they had built as the new curse was said to give them new lives in a new land, separated from their loved ones. If they didn't accept, Henry would die. Not even Killian could argue with the need for Regina to go ahead and cast the curse.

As the spell was enacted, Killian reached into his vest pocket and withdrew a small soapstone elephant that had been given to him in order to keep him and Alice together in this new land. It was another of the hardest decisions he had ever had to make, but he couldn't let Zelena be parted from her daughter after everything that she had been through. Killian and Alice were already accustomed to being apart. His heart was still cursed after all and they still would not be able to get near one another, and the worst part was that he wouldn't even know why. Zelena's wasn't and he still held some guilt over making her forget what had happened in Wonderland. At least now she would remember her daughter. He glanced down at the white elephant in his hand and then up to Alice as the winds of the curse whipped around them all. "I love you," he shouted. Alice saw only his lips move but couldn't hear him. She smiled and nodded as she gripped Robyn's hand. Zelena was too involved in the curse's happenings to notice when Killian reached out and dropped the elephant into her pocket then took her hand for support. They hadn't progressed toward love again yet, but perhaps he would be lucky enough to find Zelena in this new land.

Regina completed the curse and then everything went black.


End file.
